(CNN)-- As authorities confirmed the "balloon boy" saga was a hoax, they checked the vessel created by Richard Heene to see whether it could have actually carried his 6-year-old son Falcon.

Richard and Mayumi Heene, whose son Falcon was thought for several hours to have flown away in a homemade balloon, are facing a number of local charges, a Colorado sheriff said this week.

The tale of Balloon Boy has captured the attention of the nation, becoming the latest shared cultural event of the Internet age. In real time, we tweeted and blogged our prayers, our jubilation ...