Mayumi Heene, the mother of the boy the world anxiously feared had been swept away by hs father’s runaway weather balloon, has confessed that the whole thing was a hoax created in hopes of raising the family’s public profile for a possible reality show deal.

The search warrant affidavit says Mayumi told investigators she and Richard came up with the ruse two weeks earlier, and the balloon device “was specifically made to carry out this hoax. … she and Richard had instructed their three children to lie to authorities as well as the media regarding this hoax.”