Balloon Boy update

In 1987, Peggy Hettrick was found murdered in a field in Fort Collins, Colorado. For the next decade, the Fort Collins Police Department doggedly followed and harassed Tim Masters, convinced he was the killer because of some drawings he did in his high school notebooks. Masters was just fifteen at the time of the murder. In their ongoing quest to connect Masters to the crime in any way possible, the police left copies of his mother's obituary in conspicuous places in order to torment him psychologically. Eventually, Masters was cleared by DNA evidence (after spending nine years in prison), and it is now believed that the killer was a convicted sex offender who lived just 300 feet from the crime scene.

This case has always struck a chord with me, as it should for anyone who drew cartoons in their notebooks for school on a regular basis. Of course, my drawings were nowhere near as violent as Masters' were, but it's still disturbing that something as flimsy as this can send an innocent man to prison and ruin his life simply because the Keystone Kops were more focused on catching anyone rather than catching the murderer.

Now, guess which police department is in charge of the investigation into this whole Falcon Heene "Balloon Boy" lunacy? Yeah. Of course.

EDIT: As of the 18th of October, Larimer county Sheriff Jim Alderden is expected to recommend charges including, but not limited to, making a false report to authorities and attempting to influence a public servant. Additionally, he claims to "have evidence at this point to indicate that it was a publicity stunt...", just two days after Fort Collins police held a press briefing announcing that the incident was not planned in advance.