Fox says the balloon was intended to track storms and was never built to carry humans. The compartment the six year-old is sitting in has a thin plywood bottom that’s reportedly not attached well to the craft.

Apparently this thing was sitting in his backyard and the child climbed in, releasing the rope holding it down. The balloon, built by his father, quite simply floated away.

He’s now being jerked back and forth across Colorado’s skies at an unconfirmed elevation of several thousand feet. He seems to be coming down, but that’s not exactly safe at the speed and angle he’s coming in.

More: Hot Air, Michelle Malkin.

Update: Unbelievable. The balloon got close enough in a rural area and some pedestrians had followed it out into the field, grabbing the wires when it got close enough. Some regular guy literally drove his truck out there and ran after the tether, grabbing it when he got close enough. Rescue teams on the scene.

No Child On Board: Uh oh. There’s no child on board the balloon. Did he fall out? Was he never there to begin with? Hopefully it’s the latter.

Box is missing: Okay, the family says there was a box attached to the bottom of the balloon. The child would’ve sat in that box. It’s missing from the bottom of the craft. Not good news.