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| Police and emergency personnel remain on site at the property of Jimmy Lee Sykes, a suspect accused of holding a 5-year-old boy hostage in an underground bunker on Saturday Feb. 2, 2013 in Midland City, Ala. Negotiators were still trying to persuade Jimmy Lee Dykes to surrender. Police have said they believe the Lee Dykes, a Vietnam-era veteran, fatally shot a school bus driver Tuesday, and then abducted the boy from the bus and disappeared into the home-made bunker. |
MIDLAND CITY,
Ala. (AP) -- As the standoff with a man accused of holding a
5-year-old boy hostage continued Saturday, a nearby community prepared
to bury the beloved bus driver who was shot to death when the episode
started to unfold five days ago.
Charles
Albert Poland Jr., a 66-year-old man known around his town as Chuck, was
described by folks in his hometown of Newton as a humble hero who gave
his life Tuesday to protect the children on his bus. Visitations
services for Poland were scheduled for Saturday evening, and his funeral
was set for Sunday afternoon.
"I believe that
if he had to do it all over again tomorrow, he would," said Poland's
sister-in-law, Lavern Skipper. "He would do it for those children."
Authorities
said Jim Lee Dykes - a Vietnam-era veteran known as Jimmy to his
neighbors -boarded a stopped school bus filled with 21 children Tuesday
afternoon and demanded two boys between 6 and 8 years old. When Poland
tried to block his way, the gunman shot him several times and took one
5-year-old boy - who police say remains in an underground bunker with
Dykes.
Dale County Sheriff Wally Olson said in
a briefing with reporters Saturday that Dykes has told them he has
blankets and an electric heater in the bunker. Authorities have been
communicating with Dykes through a ventilation pipe to the underground
bunked.
Olson also said Dykes has allowed authorities to deliver coloring books, medication and toys for the boy.
"I want to thank him for taking care of our boy," Olson said. "That's very important."
The shooting and abduction took place in Midland City, a small town near Dothan, Ala., in the state's southeastern corner.
Newton
is about three miles away, a small hamlet with fewer than 2,000
residents. It sits amid cotton farms and rolling hills sprinkled with
red earth; most of the residents commute to Dothan or to a nearby Army
post.
Nearly everyone in Newton is planning to attend Poland's visitation or funeral.
"He's
probably the nicest guy you'll ever meet," said Lonnie Daniels, the
69-year-old owner of the NAPA Auto Parts store, one of three
establishments in town that was open Saturday.
Daniels
last saw his friend Tuesday morning, when Poland agreed to buy a car
from him. The two men shook hands and closed the deal "like gentlemen,"
Daniels said. Poland was to return after working his bus route to pay
for the car.
"He never came back," Daniels said quietly.
Daniels
said Poland had been married to his wife for 43 years. Poland was from
Idaho, but his wife was from Newton. The couple lived there for decades
in a small mobile home, and Poland enjoyed gardening and clearing brush
from his property.
"I knew that he was always
there if I needed," said Daniels, adding that Poland was an excellent
mechanic with an array of tools that he lent to people in town.
Neighbors
and friends said Poland did various acts of kindness for people in
town, from fixing someone's tractor to tilling the garden of a neighbor
who had a heart attack.
"You don't owe me anything," Poland once told a recipient of his good deed. "You're my neighbor."
Skipper said Poland and his wife would often sit on their porch, drinking coffee, praying and reading the Bible.
"They loved to be together," Skipper said.
On
Saturday morning, Poland's wife wasn't home. A rack of worn trucker's
caps sat on hooks on the porch, and two freshly baked pies were laid
atop a cooler.
As Newton grieves, residents
are praying for the safe return of the boy being held hostage - and
wondering about the man behind the abduction.
"We'd all like to get to him and say, `What's wrong with you?' " said Gerald Harden, owner of a gun shop in Newton.
Harden said he checked his records to see whether Dykes had bought a firearm there, but records showed he hadn't.
In
Midland City, police were mostly staying mum about their talks with
Dykes. It fell to neighbors to fill in the blanks about the man,
described by some as a menacing figure with anti-government views.
One
of Dykes' next-door neighbors said the suspect spent two or three
months constructing the bunker, digging several feet into the ground and
then building a structure of lumber and plywood, which he covered with
sand and dirt.
Neighbor Michael Creel said
Dykes put the plastic pipe underground from the bunker to the end of his
driveway so he could hear if anyone drove up to his gate. When Dykes
finished the shelter a year or so ago, he invited Creel to see it - and
he did.
"He was bragging about it. He said, `Come check it out," Creel said.
He said he believes Dykes' goal is to publicize his political beliefs.
"I believe he wants to rant and rave about politics and government," Creel said. "He's very concerned about his property."
Police
have used the pipe for communication and to deliver the boy medication
for his emotional disorders.
State Rep. Steve Clouse, who visited the
boy's mother, said the boy has Asperger's syndrome - a mild form of
autism - and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD.
But
police have not revealed how often they are in touch or what the
conversations have been about.
Authorities waited until Friday to
confirm the suspect's identity.
Local officials who have spoken to police or the boy's family have described a small room with food, electricity and a TV.
Sheriff
Olson would not say Saturday whether Dykes has made any demands. Olson
added that he is limited in the details he can release.
FBI spokesman Jason Pack said Saturday that officials were working to establish a command center near the bunker.
Dykes
had been scheduled to appear in court Wednesday to answer charges he
shot at his neighbors in a dispute last month over a speed bump.
