Of course, this story is on [-]Fox[/-] CNN so you have to be a little leery.
But I'm intrigued by all the Monday morning quarterbacks who, after the fact, are so convinced that this balloon could not carry a young child. Apparently, the police, military, and other rescue personnel were not so convinced during the big event (perhaps it's their fault for not checking out internet discussion forums to get the real scoop before launching such an expensive rescue effort). More so, there were multiple interviews with actual balloon experts during the chase. I didn't hear a single one of these experts suggest that "this is a hoax - it's obvious that this balloon cannot carry a young child."
Police investigators are trained to identify truth from deception. They deal with this all the time. "No officer, I don't know how the 20 kilo's of cocaine got in the trunk of my car." OK, that's an easy one, but in more ambiguous situations the police assess communication, emotions, body language, and other factors. They don't always get it right, but as it stands now, the people who have extensively interviewed the family and watched their reactions during the event do not believe it was a hoax.
... heck, I would like to see the dad in jail for 30 or so days...
Well, if it turns out to be a hoax, I would like to see the dad *and* the mom in jail for 30 days or so. Mom shouldn't get a free pass just because she's a woman. She was involved too.
However, if it was a hoax, it was a poor one. Personally, if I was trying to fool the news media and others, I wouldn't allow my 6 year old co-conspirator son to be interviewed on TV. I'd leave the lying to the adults.