(CNN) -- After scouring northern Colorado by foot and air, frantically chasing a now-infamous Mylar balloon for dozens of miles, and interviewing his big brother, over and over, authorities ended their search for 6-year-old Falcon Heene where it began -- at his house.

He was in a box. In the attic. The whole time.

"I played with my toys and took a nap," Falcon told a group of reporters outside his home Thursday afternoon.

"He says he was hiding in the attic," said Falcon's father, meteorologist Richard Heene, clutching to his son. "He says it's because I yelled at him."

"I'm sorry I yelled at him," added Heene, tearfully hugging the boy.

Heene said the family was working on the balloon -- what he called a "3D low-altitude vehicle" -- and they were in the "early stages of the invention" when the balloon and the boy went missing.

The situation grabbed the nation's attention early Thursday afternoon, after authorities reported that the experimental helium balloon was set adrift and the 6-year-old apparently was riding in it. His brother had said he watched Falcon get into the balloon before he untied the tethers, setting it free. Heene later said Falcon was videotaped getting into the vessel by his brother, but "obviously he got out."

Rescuers from several counties followed the saucer-like vessel until it made a soft landing some 90 miles and more than 90 minutes away in a field.

Officials rushed to the scene of the landing, smacking the metallic balloon until it deflated. They looked inside -- no Falcon.

At that point, there were two possibilities: Either Falcon never got in the balloon, or he fell out.

After reports that a box possibly carrying Falcon may have fallen off the balloon, authorities feared for the worst.

But a little while later, he turned up at home.

Larimer County Sheriff James Alderden said it's not uncommon for children to seek cover when they realize they're the subject of a massive search. "They hide because they think they are in trouble."

"What was confusing was the eyewitness who said (Falcon) climbed into the apparatus, which was not the case," Alderden said, referring to the boy's brother.

The sheriff said the brother was interviewed several times by investigators and that he was "consistent" with his story.

Earlier, the falling box scenario prompted a widening search.

A Weld County sheriff's deputy had said he saw an object fall off the balloon somewhere over Platteville, Colorado, which is in the search area. There was no box attached when the balloon made a soft landing at 1:35 p.m. Colorado time.

The widespread worries prompted the Colorado Air National Guard to deploy a UH 60 Black Hawk helicopter, with plans to launch a second one equipped with night vision if necessary.

The search, which initially focused on Weld County, covered "the entire flight plan, from the Fort Collins area down to the Denver International Airport area," Col. Mark Riccardi said.

Falcon's parents, science enthusiasts Richard and Mayumi Heene, were featured on the 100th episode of ABC's prime-time program "Wife Swap" in March 2009, ABC said.

According to the network's Web site, the Heene family "devote(s) their time to scientific experiments that include looking for extraterrestrials and building a research-gathering flying saucer to send into the eye of the storm."

Richard Heene is a meteorologist and former television weatherman who has submitted to CNN iReports accounts of his sons helping him chase Hurricane Gustav, among other contributions.

Marc Friedland, the family's next-door neighbor, said he left his house at about 11 a.m. Thursday for a walk and found Richard Heene working on the giant Mylar balloon in the backyard.

"Basically, the whole family was out there and they were working with it," he said. "When I came back is when I found out that the event happened."

He said the aircraft was intended to hover around 20 feet in the air and was not intended to carry people. "Obviously, something went wrong with that."

Friedland described his neighbors for the past year as "a great family."

"They're unusual, yes, of course. He's sort of a scientist slash inventor. They're storm chasers -- they go after tornadoes, hurricanes, things like that."

The family had been working on the aircraft for only a couple of weeks, he said.

About Falcon, Friedland said, "He's a great kid. We see him a lot and they come over and they're always friendly."

The Larimer County Sheriff's Department said the balloon had been tethered to the boy's family home in Fort Collins.

Once it was untethered, the saucer-like craft, flew eastward from the Heenes' neighborhood, though officials couldn't immediately confirm how fast it was going.

Authorities said the silver balloon, 20-feet long and 5-feet high, at times reached 7,000 feet above the ground while adrift.

The-CNN-Wire/Atlanta
TM & © 2009 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.