Another life lost, for what we may never know...

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/31/us/alabama-child-hostage/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

Somewhere underneath this red Alabama dirt is a little boy.

A kindergartner, snatched from the safety of his school bus by a gunman and stashed in an underground bunker;

A boy who needs daily medication;

A child that this Bible Belt community of 2,300 is praying for.

Many details have been released about the boy's abductor:

How he was supposed to have been in court to face charges that he'd shot at his neighbors over a minor property dispute;

How he boarded a stopped school bus Tuesday and allegedly shot dead the bus driver;

Charles Poland was fatally shot in Alabama on Tuesday. How he worked on the bunker in the middle of the night for more than a year.

Neighbors: Bunker suspect is strange

Bus driver shot; students 'in shock' But as the sun rose again on Midland City on Thursday, many more questions remain:

How deep is the bunker?

What's in it beside the man and the boy?

How are they keeping warm when temperatures have dipped into the 30s in the area?

Is the boy safe?

And most importantly, why him?

The driver

The gunman stormed into the school bus Tuesday afternoon and demanded that the driver hand him a child.

The driver, 66-year-old Charles Poland Jr., was a gentle Bible-reading man who could not stand to discipline the children on his bus because it hurt his heart, the Dothan Eagle newspaper reported.

When he refused the demand, police said, the gunman shot him several times as 22 horrified children scrambled for cover.

But the man was able to grab the boy and drag him to his underground bunker.

And the standoff began.

The suspect

Authorities have not released the name of the suspected gunman. But neighbors and news outlets around Midland City identified him as 65-year-old Jimmy Lee Dykes, a Vietnam veteran and a retired truck driver.

Neighbor Jimmy Davis told CNN that Dykes began digging a hole on his property soon after he moved in down the road from him.

Davis, who works a night shift, said Dykes worked on his bunker in the middle of the night -- every other night, between 2 and 3 a.m., for a year and a half.

He was friendly and welcoming and told Davis the hole would be a storm shelter.

But Tim Byrd, chief investigator with the Dale County Sheriff's Office, told the Southern Poverty Law Center's Hatewatch that Dykes had "anti-America" views.

"His friends and his neighbors stated that he did not trust the government, that he was a Vietnam vet, and that he had PTSD," Byrd told the civil rights group. "He was standoffish, didn't socialize or have any contact with anybody. He was a survivalist type."

The court date

On Wednesday, the day before the standoff began, Dykes was supposed to appear in court to answer to charges that he'd shot at Davis during a December argument over the dirt road that separated their homes.

Davis was moving out when his truck -- hauling a trailer -- dug ruts into the dirt speed bump that Dykes had built up across the road.

Dykes "got mad about what he saw" and stood by the side of the road, yelling and cursing, said Davis' mother, Claudia.

He then ran to his van, got a pistol and fired two shots at the truck, the Davises said.

Fortunately, no one was hurt, including Claudia Davis' 6-month-old daughter, who was inside.

The Wednesday court date in nearby Ozark was for menacing, a misdemeanor that carries penalties of up to six months in jail.

Another neighbor, Ronda Wilbur, said Dykes beat her dog to death with a lead pipe and then bragged to her husband about it.

"He made it very clear that any animals or people that came onto his property would be killed," she said.

Wilbur said she complained to animal control authorities and thought that this would stop the behavior.

"He just got increasingly more bizarre," Wilbur said.

The boy

Very little information has been released about the boy.

Police and school officials have said the child is 6, but a state representative in close contact with the family says he is 5 and will turn 6 in two weeks.

One thing is for certain: the kindergartner didn't know Dykes, State Rep. Steve Clouse said.

Through a PVC pipe that extends into the bunker, authorities have pleaded with the suspect to let the boy go -- to no avail.

The man agreed to let police send down coloring books, crayons and the prescription medicine the little boy desperately needs for Asperger's syndrome and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

But nothing else has changed.

As the standoff dragged into Thursday morning, the boy's parents were doing their best to hold it together.

They were "holding on by a thread," Clouse said.

The scene

Early Thursday morning, dozens of law enforcement vehicles clogged the dead-end dirt road that leads to Dykes' house. They were from local police, the FBI, even Homeland Security.

Authorities evacuated neighbors. Officials closed schools in three nearby districts for the week.

With little movement, police have been loath to share much with the media.

Authorities called off a planned news conference late Wednesday night, saying there was nothing new to report. Early Thursday morning, Dale County Sheriff Wally Olson gave reporters a similar message, but said officers and volunteers trying to resolve the situation were holding up well.

At an earlier news conference Wednesday, Olson said he had "no reason to believe that the child has been harmed."

A reporter asked what the community could do to help.

"Pray," the sheriff said.

"Pray."

[Penny Lane 8,159]

This story is so bizarre. I hope this boy makes it.

This is an example of a man who should not have access to weapons.

Edited January 31, 2013 by Evylin

[^_^ 5,021]

The rights in the Constitution are not rights granted us by humans like you or Evylin. They are rights we've been endowed with by our Creator, God.

God says he can have a gun. No human being can say otherwise!

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

This story is so bizarre. I hope this boy makes it.

This is an example of a man who should not have access to weapons.

I'm just waiting for the folks to blame the bus driver for trying to protect this child, or the child for riding the bus that day. You know it's never the gunman's fault.

[Penny Lane 8,159]

God's a bit of a jerk then.

I'm just waiting for the folks to blame the bus driver for trying to protect this child, or the child for riding the bus that day. You know it's never the gunman's fault.

This guy seems insane. No two ways about it. His reactions to normal situations are entirely over the top. Just the kind of person who should have access to weapons!

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

This is an example of a man who should not have access to weapons.

Depends on who you ask. I can think of several people that post here regularly that would disagree with that statement of yours. Some might even suggest that this man should have the right to own his own nuclear warhead. They are THAT nuts.

[Penny Lane 8,159]

Depends on who you ask. I can think of several people that post here regularly that would disagree with that statement of yours. Some might even suggest that this man should have the right to own his own nuclear warhead. They are THAT nuts.

Scary, isn't it?

[^_^ 5,021]

God's a bit of a jerk then.

No, he loves you.

[Mrs. Childs 11]

Some people ABUSE of their rights. Including their rights to bear arms. And some other people are NOT CAREFUL with the arms they have. Some others are just evil. Not a time to blame anyone but to pray for this little boy´s life and safety. Once hes out and safe... the man can be taken to jail or whatever the law states to be done with him.

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

Some people ABUSE of their rights. Including their rights to bear arms. And some other people are NOT CAREFUL with the arms they have. Some others are just evil. Not a time to blame anyone but to pray for this little boy´s life and safety. Once hes out and safe... the man can be taken to jail or whatever the law states to be done with him.

We typically don't try to blame anyone, we just point out how some people will do anything to absolve the gunman in most cases.

[Penny Lane 8,159]

Some people ABUSE of their rights. Including their rights to bear arms. And some other people are NOT CAREFUL with the arms they have. Some others are just evil. Not a time to blame anyone but to pray for this little boy´s life and safety. Once hes out and safe... the man can be taken to jail or whatever the law states to be done with him.

If he's out and safe. I hope that's how this story ends, but who knows. I'm not the praying type.

[Mrs. Childs 11]

We typically don't try to blame anyone, we just point out how some people will do anything to absolve the gunman in most cases.

He is accountable for his actions unless declared insane... Most cases of people who become merciless shooters end up shot dead by police forces or in a mental institution, so I dont see how they can be absolved of a crime like this, but I get your point. There is a world of opinions against and in favor gun control.

I read some amazing words written on a post in a page devoted to the sandy school victims and it said "We do not need more control in guns, we need to reintroduce God and His Law in our families to avoid this. Evil is around and the only weapon we have against it is His Word and being able to teach our kids to follow them"

[Penny Lane 8,159]

"We do not need more control in guns, we need to reintroduce God and His Law in our families to avoid this. Evil is around and the only weapon we have against it is His Word and being able to teach our kids to follow them"

Oh come on.

Please show me proof that belief in God stops violence.

If anything, it causes more of it.

Edited January 31, 2013 by Evylin

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Oh come on.

Please show me proof that belief in God stops violence.

If anything, it causes more of it.

God is not violent, angels are.

[Penny Lane 8,159]

Can't watch it, but I'll take your word for it!