Rescuers and paramedics are with a "homemade flying saucer" that came down in a field in Weld County this afternoon, but the fate of a 6-year-old boy who was on board is unknown.

Rescuers on the ground told their dispatcher the boy was not inside when they searched the downed balloon.

Officials and the boy's family had said he was in the gondola when it went airborne this morning; it's unclear what happened to the boy, and the search is now expanding on the ground.

The incident started this morning in Fort Collins when the boy got into the balloon-like device built by his father and it came loose from a tether.

The balloon craft belongs to Richard Heene, whose son, Falcon, is now missing. The Larimer County

Read a 2007 Denver Post story about the boy's father, who is a severe-weather chaser.

Sheriff's Office said the "homemade flying saucer" was made out of plywood and string and was never intended for flight.

Officials from Larimer, Weld and Adams counties worked this afternoon with the Federal Aviation Administration and assistance from the 9News helicopter to track the balloon.

Margie Martinez, spokesperson for the Weld County Sheriff's Department, said during the flight that officials were not sure the boy was still in the balloon. She said they are sure the child was in the balloon when it took off, but that it was impossible to look into the gondola during flight.

Larimer County spokesperson Eloise Campanella said that shortly after the balloon took off, search and rescue personnel searched the neighborhood where the young boy lived, including the boy's home and nearby residences. She said that given the fact that the child was not found in the balloon, the search will now widen.

"We are pulling out all the stops," said Campanella.

Crews on the ground are asking for all terrain vehicles to help in the search.

Richard Heene is an amateur scientist based out of Fort Collins. He and his partners call themselves the "psyience detectives."

Heene is a storm chaser who collects data to prove that rotating storms create their own magnetic fields.

He began his research in 2002 with lab experiments, then moved on to dust devils. In 2005, he flew a plane around Hurricane Wilma's perimeter. He took The Denver Post with chasing storms in 2007.

Heeme and his wife, Mayumi Heene, have sons Ryo and Bradford in addition to Falcon.

Last year they were featured on the ABC TV series "WifeSwap."

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