The Colorado governor on Wednesday pardoned a couple convicted of criminal charges in the so-called Balloon Boy Hawks that lured the country more than a decade ago.
Richard and Mayumi Hee reported that their 6-year-old son floated in a domestic UFO-shaped silver helium balloon in 2009.
Dozens of emergency responses and video footage of a colossal balloon floating above the ground in two Colorado National Guard helicopters made national news as the boy was haunted to rescue.
File – On January 11, 2010, Richard Heaney, right, and his wife, Mayumi, arrived at the Larami County Detention Center in Fort Collins, Cologne. (AP Photo / Ed Andrewski, file)
But the baby was never on a balloon, and was later found free at his home in Fort Collins, about 60 miles north of Denver. Officials said Heinz did the ordeal to get publicity for the reality TV show, which they were trying to pitch.
Eleven years later, the couple has now “paid the price in the eyes of the people” and shouldn’t be pulled off the criminal record for the rest of their lives, Colorado Govt. Jared police said in a statement Wednesday.
“We’re ready to go all the way back to a decade ago,” said first-term Democrat Police.
Richard Hee was sentenced to one month in prison after pleading guilty to a serious charge of influencing a public servant, and Mayumi Hee was sentenced to 20 days in prison for filing a false report. He was also ordered to pay Rs 36,000 as compensation.
Click here to get the Fox News app
The couple told ABC News last year that it was not a scam because they feared their son might ride in a balloon when they called for help.
Police also issued another 16 amnesties and four trips.
