'Balloon boy' incident was a hoax: Sheriff

The bizarre flight of a home-made helium balloon, thought to have a 6-year-old boy inside, was a hoax and publicity stunt, a Colorado sheriff said on Sunday.

The bizarre flight of a home-made helium balloon, thought to have a 6-year-old boy inside, was a hoax and publicity stunt, a Colorado sheriff said on Sunday.

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"It has been determined that this is a hoax, that it was a publicity stunt and we believe we have evidence at this point to indicate that this was a publicity stunt in hopes to better market themselves for a reality show," Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden told reporters at a press conference.