It looks as though the official “we believe the parents” may no longer be operative, according to this report from NBC. What did it for the sheriff? Could it be the video showing that the parents were there when the balloon got launched? The apparent stumble of the young boy in talking about “the show”? The fact that the family has been pushing for a reality TV series? The fact that the family called the media before 911? It’s hard to imagine that anyone would have been foolish enough to deliberately stage a hoax that would have forced them to hide their son for, oh, a few years — but that presumes that a hoaxer is intelligent enough to think through all of the consequences.

By the way, the family no longer wants to do media interviews. Surprised?