As mentioned in Good Morning News, via Reuters:

The bizarre flight of a home-made helium balloon, thought to have a 6-year-old boy aboard, was a hoax and publicity stunt, a Colorado sheriff said on Sunday.

"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," Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden told reporters at a press conference. He said the family faced several charges.

So, what do you think... does the fact that it was a hoax make this family more or less marketable to reality-show producers?