Details emerge about man at center of Alabama hostage standoff [View all]
Source: AP
As the standoff enters its sixth day, officials paint a picture of an isolated man estranged from his family
BY BRUCE SMITH AND MELISSA NELSON-GABRIEL, ASSOCIATED PRESS
MIDLAND CITY, Ala. (AP) — As an Alabama standoff and hostage drama marked a sixth day Sunday, more details emerged about the suspect at the center, with neighbors and officials painting a picture of an isolated man estranged from his family.
Authorities say Jim Lee Dykes, 65 — a decorated veteran of the Vietnam War known as Jimmy to neighbors — gunned down a school bus driver and abducted a 5-year-old boy from the bus, taking him to an underground bunker on his rural property. The driver, 66-year-old Charles Albert Poland Jr., was to be buried Sunday.
Dykes, described as a loner who railed against the government, lives up a dirt road outside this tiny hamlet north of Dothan in the southeast corner of the state. His home is just off the main road north to the state capital of Montgomery, about 80 miles away.
The FBI said in a statement Sunday that authorities continue to have an open line of communication with Dykes and that they planned to deliver to the bunker additional comfort items such as food, toys and medicine. Officials also said Dykes was making the child as comfortable as possible.
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Read more: http://www.salon.com/2013/02/03/details_emerge_about_man_at_center_of_alabama_hostage_standoff/
Below, in comment #2, Sedona has excerpted a portion of the details. The full article is worth a read!
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