Mother says 'balloon boy' saga was hoax, court documents show

(CNN) - The wife of a Colorado father at the center of the "balloon boy" saga says he created the giant helium balloon specifically for a hoax to draw media attention, according to court documents released Friday.

Mayumi Heene told Larimer County investigators that she and her husband, Richard Heene, knew their 6-year-old son Falcon was hiding at their Fort Collins home the entire time - even as police and military scrambled to search for the boy, according to the documents.

The Heenes had told authorities they believed their child had flown away on the balloon, and when the balloon landed without him, the expressed concern that he may have fallen our of the device.

The couple hatched the plan about two weeks before the the October 15 release of the balloon and "instructed their three children to lie to authorities as well as the media regarding this hoax, according to the documents.