Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden held a press conference today in which he declared that the “Balloon Boy” episode was a hoax.

Alderden called the event a “publicity stunt” and added that criminal charges will be filed against Falcon’s parents, Richard and Mayumi Heene: “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”.

Possible charges could include filing a false report, conspiracy and contributing to the delinquency of a minor, according to a Reuters report.

The Balloon Boy story captured the attention of mainstream media and social media alike on Thursday as it appeared that 6 year-old Falcon Heene was trapped in a helium balloon flying over Colorado. Twitter and Facebook updates were dominated by the story, which also topped Twitter’s trending topics. When it transpired that Falcon was in fact safe at home, the tale quickly became an Internet meme, with Balloon Boy t-shirts being sold online. While Alderden originally claimed there was no evidence of a hoax, suspicions arose after Falcon told CNN: “We did this for the show”.