Police and emergency personnel remain on site at the property of Jimmy Lee Sykes, a suspect accused of holding a 5-year-old boy hostage in an underground bunker on Saturday Feb. 2, 2013 in Midland City, Ala. Negotiators were still trying to persuade Jimmy Lee Dykes to surrender. Police have said they believe the Lee Dykes, a Vietnam-era veteran, fatally shot a school bus driver Tuesday, and then abducted the boy from the bus and disappeared into the home-made bunker. (AP Photo/al.com, Joe Songer)
As Ala. standoff drags on, town grieves bus driver
Police and emergency personnel remain on site at the property of Jimmy Lee Sykes, a suspect accused of holding a 5-year-old boy hostage in an underground bunker on Saturday Feb. 2, 2013 in Midland City, Ala. Negotiators were still trying to persuade Jimmy Lee Dykes to surrender. Police have said they believe the Lee Dykes, a Vietnam-era veteran, fatally shot a school bus driver Tuesday, and then abducted the boy from the bus and disappeared into the home-made bunker. (AP Photo/al.com, Joe Songer)
By TAMARA LUSH, MELISSA NELSON-GABRIEL and JAY REEVES
Associated Press /
February 2, 2013
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He said he believes Dykes’ goal is 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.’’
Police have used the pipe for communication and to deliver the boy medication for his emotional disorders. State Rep. Steve Clouse, who visited the boy’s mother, said the boy has Asperger’s syndrome — a mild form of autism — and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD.
But police have not revealed how often they are in touch or what the conversations have been about. Authorities waited until Friday to confirm the suspect’s identity.
Local officials who have spoken to police or the boy’s family have described a small room with food, electricity and a TV.
Sheriff Olson would not say Saturday whether Dykes has made any demands. Olson added that he is limited in the details he can release.
FBI spokesman Jason Pack said Saturday that officials were working to establish a command center near the bunker.
Dykes had been scheduled to appear in court Wednesday to answer charges he shot at his neighbors in a dispute last month over a speed bump.
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Follow Tamara Lush on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tamaralush
Associated Press writers Eric Tucker in Washington; Tamara Lush and Phillip Rawls in Midland City; Bob Johnson in Montgomery, Ala., and AP researcher Rhonda Shafner in New York contributed to this report.
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