Textos Mastigados: While world worried, 'balloon boy' was safe in attic

Tempo de leitura: menos de 1 minuto

(CNN) — After scouring [procurar, vasculhar] northern Colorado by foot [a pé] and air, frantically [freneticamente] chasing [procurando] a now-infamous Mylar [marca de película de poliester usada em embalangens e como isolante térmico] balloon for dozens [dúzias] of miles and interviewing his big brother [irmão mais velho] over and over [várias vezes], local and federal authorities ended their search for 6-year-old Falcon Heene where it began — at his house.

He was in a box. In the attic [sótão]. The whole time [o tempo todo].

“I played with my toys [brinquedos] and took a nap [dormi, cochilei],” Falcon told a group of reporters outside his home Thursday afternoon.

“He says he was hiding [estava escondido] in the attic,” said Falcon’s father, meteorologist Richard Heene, clutching [abraçando, agarrando] his son. “He says it’s because I yelled at [gritei com] him. I’m sorry I yelled at him.”

But in a later interview with CNN’s “Larry King Live,” Falcon said he heard his parents call for him from the garage. When asked by his father on-air why he didn’t respond, the boy replied [respondeu], “You guys [vocês] said we did this for the show.”

When Heene was pressed [pressionado] by Wolf Blitzer, who was filling in for [substituindo] King, to explain what his son meant [quis dizer], he became uncomfortable, finally saying he was “appalled” [chocado] by the questions. He added that Falcon was likely [provavelmente] referring to all the media coverage.

Authorities say they believe the case, which launched [lançou, desencadeou] search efforts [operações de busca] by the Colorado Air National Guard and Federal Aviation Administration, was genuine [legítimo, verdadeiro].

Heene told reporters earlier that the family was working on the balloon, what he called a “3D low-altitude vehicle,” and they were in the “early stages of the invention” when the balloon and the boy went missing [desapareceram].

The situation grabbed the world’s attention [atraiu a atenção do mundo inteiro] early Thursday afternoon, after authorities reported that the experimental helium [hélio] balloon was set adrift [ficou à deriva] and the 6-year-old apparently was riding [estava dentro, era passageiro] in it. His brother had said he watched Falcon get into the balloon before he untied the tethers [soltar as amarras], setting it free. Heene later said Falcon was videotaped getting into the vessel [nave] by his brother, but “obviously he got out.”

Rescuers from several counties [unidade administrativa similar a município] followed the saucer-like vessel [nave semelhante a um disco voador], and the FAA [Federal Aviation Administration (órgão equivalente ao DAC  – Departamento de Aviação Civil)] tried to track [rastrear] it until the balloon made a soft landing [pouso (normal, sem intercorrências)] some 50 miles away in a field [campo]. Assista ao vídeo da CNN.

Officials rushed [correram] to the scene [local], smacking [golpeando] the metallic balloon until it deflated [esvaziasse]. They looked inside — no Falcon [e nada do Falcon].

At that point, there were two possibilities: Either Falcon never got in the balloon, or he fell out [caiu]. After reports that a box possibly carrying Falcon might have fallen off the balloon [poderia ter caído do balão], authorities feared the worst [temiam pelo pior].

But a little while later [um pouquinho depois], he turned up [apareceu, foi encontrado] at home.

Larimer County Sheriff [comandante (da polícia)] James Alderden said it’s not uncommon for children to seek cover [buscar proteção, ficar em um esconderijo] when they realize [percebem] they’re the subject [alvo] of a massive search. “They hide because they think they are in trouble [“aprontaram”].”

“What was confusing was the eyewitness [testemunha ocular] who said (Falcon) climbed into [subiu, entrou] the apparatus, which was not the case,” Alderden said, referring to the boy’s brother.

The sheriff said the brother was interviewed several times by investigators and that he was “consistent” with his story.

Earlier, the falling-box scenario prompted a widening [ainda mais abrangente] search.

A Weld County sheriff’s deputy [interino, adjunto] had said he saw an object fall from the balloon somewhere over Platteville, Colorado, which is in the search area. There was no box attached when the balloon made a soft landing at 1:35 p.m. (3:35 p.m. ET).

The widespread worries [comoção] prompted [fez com que] the Colorado Air National Guard to deploy [acionar] a UH 60 Black Hawk helicopter, with plans to launch a second one, equipped with night vision, if necessary.

The search, which initially focused on Weld County, covered “the entire flight plan [plano de voo], from the Fort Collins area down to the Denver International Airport area,” Col. Mark Riccardi said.

Falcon’s parents, science enthusiasts Richard and Mayumi Heene, were featured on the 100th episode of ABC’s prime-time [horário nobre] program “Wife Swap [troca]” in March 2009, ABC said.

According to the network’s Web site, the Heene family “devote their time to scientific experiments that include looking for extraterrestrials and building a research-gathering flying saucer [disco voador para coleta de dados (de pesquisa)] to send into the eye of the storm [“olho do furacão”].”

Richard Heene is a meteorologist and former [ex] television weatherman [jornalista que dá informações meteorológicas] who has submitted to [enviou, encaminhou] CNN iReports accounts of his sons helping him chase Hurricane [furacão] Gustav, among other contributions.

Marc Friedland, the family’s next-door neighbor, said he left his house about 11 a.m. Thursday for a walk and found Richard Heene working on the giant balloon in the backyard [nos fundos (da casa)].

“Basically, the whole family was out there, and they were working with it,” he said. “When I came back is when I found out [descobri, fiquei sabendo] that the event happened.”

He said the aircraft was intended to hover [pairar] about 20 feet in the air and was not intended to carry people. “Obviously, something went wrong with that.”

Friedland described his neighbors for the past year as “a great family.”

“They’re unusual, yes, of course. He’s sort of a scientist slash inventor [cientista barra inventor]. They’re storm chasers — they go after [vão atrás, perseguem] tornadoes, hurricanes, things like that.”

The family had been working on the aircraft for only a couple of weeks, he said.

About Falcon, Friedland said, “He’s a great kid [garoto]. We see him a lot, and they come over and they’re always friendly [simpáticos].”

The Larimer County Sheriff’s Office said the balloon had been tethered to the family’s home in Fort Collins.

Once untethered, the saucer-like craft flew eastward from the Heenes’ neighborhood, though officials couldn’t immediately confirm how fast it was going.

Authorities said the silver [prateado] balloon, 20-feet long and 5-feet high, at times reached 7,000 feet above the ground while adrift.

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