MIDLAND CITY, Ala. — Police yesterday stormed an underground bunker where a 5-year-old boy had been held hostage for nearly a week, rescuing the child and leaving his abductor dead.
The FBI said negotiations had deteriorated with 65-year-old perp Jimmy Lee Dykes to the point that they believed the boy was in imminent danger.
Dykes — who had abducted the youngster from a school bus after fatally shooting the driver last Tuesday — had been seen with a gun, they said.
So officers stormed the bunker to rescue the child, who was later taken to a hospital in nearby Dothan. Officials have said the child has Asperger’s syndrome.
It was not immediately clear how Dykes died.
Daryle Hendry, who lives about a quarter-mile from Dykes’ bunker, said he heard a boom followed by what sounded like a gunshot around the time officials moved in.
Neighbors described Dykes as a man who once beat a dog to death with a lead pipe, threatened to shoot children for setting foot on his property, and patrolled his yard at night with a flashlight and a firearm.
Government records and interviews with neighbors indicate that Dykes joined the Navy in Midland City, serving on active duty from 1964 to 1969. His record shows several awards, including the Vietnam Service Medal and the Good Conduct Medal.