A massive search took place in the state of Colorado in the United States on Thursday after a home-made helium balloon shaped like a flying saucer took off from its owners' property with, it was thought, a six-year-old boy inside. The boy's brother had told police he had climbed inside the balloon before it took off.

The UFO-shaped balloon drifted through the skies at heights of up to 1800 metres until it landed in a field some 80 kilometres away some two hours later. US National Guard helicopters followed the flying object during most of the journey. However when rescuers looked inside they found no trace of six-year-old Falcon Heene.

US cable networks interrupted their coverage of a town hall meeting with President Barack Obama to broadcast live footage of the balloon's progress, which was filmed from a helicopter. The authorities feared the worst after witnesses called in to say they had seem something fall from the balloon during its flight and began searching the countryside.

Two hours later the boy was found hiding inside a box in the attic of the family garage. The boy's father is an amateur scientist. The Heene family devotes much of its time to carrying out "scientific experiments that include looking for extraterrestrials".

Live coverage of balloon boy drama
Photo by morner (flickr)