Alabama boy safe after being held hostage for 6 days
Posted February 4, 2013 10:09 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A 5-year-old boy is safe nearly a week after he was kidnapped from his school bus in a small Alabama town.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation entered an underground bunker Monday afternoon in Midland City where the boy had been held since Tuesday.
Agents say the decision was made to go in due to fears the boy was in “imminent danger” from his alleged kidnapper, 65-year-old Jimmy Lee Dykes.
“Within the past 24 hours, negotiations deteriorated, and Mr. Dykes was observed holding a gun,” FBI special agent Steve Richardson told CNN. “At this point, FBI agents, fearing the child was in imminent danger, entered the bunker and rescued the child. The child appears physically unharmed and is being treated at a local hospital.”
Alabama state troopers confirmed the boy was then taken to Flowers Hospital in Dothan even though he appeared to be alright when he was freed.
A state lawmaker says the child, identified only by his first name Ethan, was to be reunited with his mother and grandmother at the hospital.
The FBI have confirmed that Dykes is dead, although they would not say how he died.
On Jan. 29 Dykes boarded the boy’s school bus, killed the driver and fled with the child. There has been no word on possible movite for his actions.
The bunker where he held the child was reportedly stocked with supplies, including blankets and a heater.
Authorities communicated with Dykes and the boy through a ventilation pipe. They say Dykes allowed food, medicine and some comfort items to be delivered to the child.
