Just wondering why THIS particular super drama standoff story isn't getting the Nancy Grace-like 24/7 live news coverage. It's got all the elements... handicapped hostage, unbelievably stupid murderer, several days locked in a bunker he dug communicating through a pvc pipe with the police.
Alabama Hostage Standoff: Alleged Kidnapper Has Stayed in Bunker for 8 Days
The 5-year-old boy being held hostage by a retired man who allegedly abducted him at gunpoint is in a 6-by-8-foot bunker, where his captor has been known to hold up for eight days, police said.
School bus driver Charles Albert Poland Jr., 66, tried to prevent the kidnapping Tuesday, but was allegedly shot to death on his bus by Jimmy Lee Dykes, a 65-year-old former truck driver.
Police Chief James Arrington of Pinckard, Ala., said the bunker, which Dykes built in his backyard, is 4 feet underground and has a 60-foot plastic pipe coming out of it. Dykes has been communicating with police through the pipe.
"He will have to give up sooner or later because [authorities] are not leaving," Arrington said. "It's pretty small, but he's been known to stay in there eight days."
Worst Hostage Crises: Some of the World's Worst Situations
Dykes is known to hold anti-government views, Arrington said. "He's against the government, starting with Obama on down," he said.
Dykes' property is in Pinckard's police jurisdiction in Dale County. Arrington said that authorities have had trouble with Dykes in the past.
"I never had any problem with him before," he said."The county has, but not me."
Dykes boarded the bus Tuesday and said he wanted two boys, 6 to 8 years old. As the children piled to the back of the bus, Dykes allegedly shot Poland four times, then grabbed the child at random and fled, the AP reported.
Now all attention in the community near Midland City, Ala., is on the boy's safety. The police have not identified the boy, whom Dykes has allowed to watch TV and receive medication sent from home, according to state Rep. Steve Clouse.
The boy's mother is secluded at the scene with law enforcement, according to ABC-affiliated station WDHN-TV.
Police say Dykes likely has enough food and supplies to remain underground for weeks. It is unclear whether he has made any demands from the bunker-style shelter on his property.
The young hostage is a child with autism.
Threads merged
