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MIDLAND CITY, Ala.
--As an Alabama standoff and hostage drama entered a sixth day Sunday, neighbors and officials painted a picture of the suspect as an isolated man with few friends and no close 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 then abducted a 5-year-old boy from the bus, taking him to an underground bunker on his rural property.
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. They also said Dykes was making the child as comfortable as possible.
Dykes property has a white trailer which, according to a neighbor, Dykes said he bought from FEMA after it was used to house evacuees from Hurricane Katrina. The property also has a steel shipping container in which Dykes stores tools and supplies.
Next to the container is the underground bunker where authorities say Dykes is holed up with the 5-year-old. Neighbors say that the bunker has a pipe so Dykes could hear people coming near his driveway. Authorities have been using the pipe to communicate with him.
A neighbor who said he helped Dykes with supplies to build the bunker and has been in it twice, said Dykes wanted protection from hurricanes.