Authorities release photo of accused Ala. abductor

Law officers at the Dale County hostage scene in Midland City, Ala. on Thursday morning, Jan. 31, 2013. A gunman holed up in a bunker with a 6-year-old hostage has kept law officers at bay since the standoff began when he killed a school bus driver and dragged the boy away, authorities said. / Mickey Welsh, AP Photo/Montgomery Advertiser

MIDLAND CITY, Ala. After four anxious days, only the slimmest of details has come to light in a police standoff with an Alabama man who is accused of holding a 5-year-old boy hostage in a bunker, a sign of just how delicate the negotiations are.

Police have used a ventilation pipe to the underground bunker to talk to the man and deliver the boy medication for his emotional disorders, but they have not revealed how often they are in touch or what the conversations have been about. And authorities waited until Friday — four days after the siege began — to confirm what was widely known in this age of instant communication: The man accused of killing a school bus driver and abducting the boy Tuesday was 65-year-old Jimmy Lee Dykes, a Vietnam-era veteran who was known to neighbors as a menacing figure.

Jimmy Lee Dykes

While much of what is going on inside the bunker remains a mystery, local officials who have spoken to police or the boy's family have described a small room with food, electricity and a TV. And while the boy has his medication, an official also said he has been crying for his parents.

Meanwhile, Midland City residents held out hope that the standoff would end safely and mourned for the slain bus driver and his family. Candlelight vigils have been held nightly at a gazebo in front of City Hall. Residents prayed, sang songs such as "Amazing Grace" and nailed homemade wooden crosses on the gazebo's railings alongside signs that read: "We are praying for you."

"We're doing any little thing that helps show support for him," said 15-year-old Taylor Edwards said.

Former hostage negotiators said authorities must be cautious and patient as long as they are confident that the boy is unharmed. Ex-FBI hostage negotiator Clint Van Zandt advised against any drastic measures such as cutting the electricity or putting sleep gas inside the bunker because it could agitate Dykes.

• Complete coverage of the Alabama standoff on Crimesider
• Alabama standoff: Negotiators talking to captor through pipe

The negotiator should try to ease Dykes' anxieties over what will happen when the standoff ends, and refer to both the boy and Dykes by their first names, he said.

"I want to give him a reason to come out," Van Zandt said, "and my reason is, `You didn't mean that to happen. It was unintentional. It could have happened to anyone. It was an accident. People have accidents, Jimmy Lee. It's not that big a thing. You and I can work that out."'

Police seemed to be following that pattern. At a brief news conference to release a photo of Dykes, they brushed off any questions about possible charges.

"It's way too early for that," said Kevin Cook, a spokesman for the Alabama state troopers.

The shelter is about 4 feet underground, with about 6-by-8 feet of floor space and there is a PVC pipe that negotiators were speaking through.

One of Dykes' next-door neighbors said he spent two or three months constructing the bunker, digging several feet into the ground and then building a structure of lumber and plywood, which he covered with sand and dirt.

Neighbor Michael Creel said Dykes put the plastic pipe underground from the bunker to the end of his driveway so he can hear if anyone drives up to his gate. When Dykes finished the shelter a year or so ago, he in invited Creel to see it and he did.

"He was bragging about it. He said, `Come check it out," Creel said.

He said he believes Dykes' goal with the standoff is a chance to publicize his political beliefs.

"I believe he wants to rant and rave about politics and government," Creel said. "He's very concerned about his property. He doesn't want his stuff messed with."

Midland City Mayor Virgil Skipper said he has been briefed by law enforcement agents and has visited with the boy's parents.

"He's crying for his parents," he said. "They are holding up good. They are praying and asking all of us to pray with them."

State Rep. Steve Clouse, who represents the Midland City area, said he visited the boy's mother and she is "hanging on by a thread." Clouse said the mother told him that the boy has Asperger's syndrome as well as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD.

Dr. Nadine Kaslow, a family therapist and psychiatry professor at Emory University in Atlanta, said the boy's emotional troubles might make things even more difficult for him.

"They have less way to make sense of things," she said of children with Asperger's and ADHD. "He may be less able to even interact with the person who's holding him hostage than another child might be, and he's less able, for example, to imagine friends that might be there waiting for him, to remember the good things, positive times. Also, he may be more likely to be frightened and overwhelmed and confused by the situation."

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[oldoc44]

The country is chock full of these closet "nut cases"; every neighborhood has at least one and everyone knows someone who is "out there" like this guy sounds like he was before he went off this time. How to get these people some help when they don't violate any laws and yet all the red flags are there...bunkers, guns, hot tempers and a antisocial agenda that is apparent from their talk and activities in general. (Sounds like most of the rural south and lots of other places as well!) Seriously, we're in a culture of violence and lots of folks love to play tough-guy mind games with themselves, so the question is just how to check all this weirdo stuff! Gun laws thus far have had little impact on everyday shootings and a ban on wannabe looklike assault rifles is a feel-good excercise since they aren't what kills most victims of gun violence anyway... it's those Glock-type handguns more likely. WE need to start to get rid of the endless, mindless enthusiasm for violence that pervades our culture; THEN worry about all the guns in the hands of average grassroots nut cases like this guy. A tall order but we need to do it! Somehow.

[Jonseen]

How can he be an "accused" abductor when he still HAS the child and everybody knows it?

[petesis]

He likely is a paranoid schizophrenic. I have some experience with these types and although I am sure they will not tell him this, another possible tack might be to straight out tell him that he is a worthless cowardly scumbag holding a 5 year old boy hostage and that he should let the boy go before he does the only thing left for him to do... put a round right between his own eyes. That would be my approach. Telling him this can all be worked out is lying to him. And a paranoid schizophrenic would be the last person to think this could be worked out.

[angelofurnightmare]

Give the lunatic a press conference...Let him come up and rant all he wants on live TV...just get that kid out of that hole

[vaoldman2]

Here's an idea, let the states decide if they want guns in their state including any semi auto gun. Then all the gun owners can move into those states. The states that don't want guns of any type and all the people that don't want guns can move into those states. Now all the gangs and thugs would have their choice of where to live because they need to ply their trade. I wonder what states they would chose. This would make everyone happy.

[ichibandan]

They won't budge from where they are now,Vaoldman. Thugs operate in all 50 states, no matter how many guns the NRA sells. You're blowing smoke up your own ass if you believe in the fairy tale you just proposed.Your gun utopia will never see reality. It's too dumb.

[rzarc2]

Ah, there is 5 year old boy down there with him? Duh...........

[rzarc2]

That was in reply to Don_Monmouth stupid comment below.

[tvwatcher5345]

i guess we need to start arming bus drivers with asault weapons

[varigdc10]

This guy is an example of someone who watches FOX News and believes all that crap they throw at you.

[tudognight]

A crazy old coot has Fox as his justification. He is as crazy as the old fart who owns Fox.

[tvwatcher5345]

probably just another republican survivalist who has been listening to too much rush and glenn beck, i wonder if the teabaggers will vote for him

[johnnyaction]

"Does he have an assault weapon? An assault weapon??? He's really be a bad guy if he has an assault weapon!!! He could assault people if he had an assault weapon!!!!!!" -CBS News