Los Angeles  - A boy who was believed to have taken off alone in a runaway experimental balloon has been found alive and well at his home, the local sheriff in the state of Colorado said Thursday.

Falcon Heene, 6, was found hiding in a box in the garage attic, the Laramer County sheriff told local TV station KUSA. The child had been reported to be aboard a balloon that crash-landed in an empty field after drifting some 80 kilometres in a two hour flight over the Colorado countryside. (dpa)