Back in his mother's arms: Parents' joy as they are reunited with son after FBI shot survivalist captor DEAD in Alabama bunker raid

Five-year-old Ethan is talking and laughing with his mother as he spends a precautionary night in hospital

Jimmy Lee Dykes, 65, who allegedly stormed a school bus and took Ethan hostage for a week is dead



FBI hostage teams used high-tech military surveillance equipment to monitor the survivalist



Alabama State Senator Harri Anne Smith relieved for the rescue of Ethan and said 'Mom has been incredible, she has been so brave and has always known her son would be brought home safe.'

It is not known whether Dykes was killed by FBI agents or committed suicide

The survivalist believed that aliens were being kept by the U.S. government, and they were threatening to take America's weapons

Mugshot: Jimmy Lee Dykes, 65, the suspect in the standoff, was killed by the FBI Hostage Rescue Team

The five-year-old boy held captive in an underground bunker for seven days has been reunited with his mother.

The emotional reunion came after FBI agents stormed the Alabama bunker in which the child had been held and shot his captor dead.

Ethan, the child at the heart of the Alabama kidnapping crisis, spent his first evening of freedom playing, eating, laughing and joking around with his favorite toy dinosaur.

The ordeal came to a dramatic conclusion at 3.12 p.m. on Monday as FBI agents believed the little boy to be in 'imminent danger' and breeched survivalist Jimmy Lee Dykes's bunker.



Speaking this evening Sheriff Wally Olson, who has been on the site almost constantly since Ethan's abduction and the shooting of school bus driver Mr Charles 'Chuck' Poland, said: 'He's a very special child who's endured a lot and by the grace of God he's okay.'

He added that, speaking as a parent himself, 'It is a relief to reunite a mother with her child.'



That longed for reunion took place at Flowers Hospital, where Ethan was taken following his rescue. He arrived sitting up on a stretcher.

Steve Richardson, FBI Special Agent in Charge of the agency's Mobile, Alabama Office said: 'I have been to the hospital and he's doing fine. He's laughing, joking, eating..doing the things you would expect a normal five or six year old to do.'

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A photograph of 'Ethan' the five-year-old hostage who was rescued today in Midland City after a week-long ordeal at the hands of survivalist Jimmy Lee Dykes who died during the operation

Saved: The boy, known only as Ethan, is believed to be ok after he was rescued from the bunker by FBI agents

But the past few days of Ethan's life and those of the many law enforcement officers and friends and family here in Midland City, Alabama, have been anything but normal.



The week-long standoff ended today in Midland City, when negotiations with kidnapper Jimmy Lee Dykes, 65, deteriorated and FBI hostage rescue teams felt they had no choice but to forcibly enter the bunker on his property and take the boy known only as Ethan safely out.

And though Ethan has now been returned to his family the investigation and the unraveling of what happened is only just beginning.

An independent team of investigators will be brought in from Washington, DC once the site is deemed clear and safe by the FBI's bomb disposal experts.

Questions about the details of the evening's climax to the crisis – whether the 'booms' heard were caused by explosives, diversions or stun grenades set off by the FBI in order to storm the bunker or whether they were the signs of imminent danger posed by Dykes remain unanswered.

Sheriff Olson would say only that a threat was perceived and that negotiations which had been 'civil' became 'increasingly difficult over the past 24 hours.'



Asked if Dykes was armed when killed he responded in the affirmative.

Out in force: Police and emergency personnel, were stationed in the area 24/7, and raided the bunker over fears for the young boy's safety

Working together: Law enforcement officials from the FBI, the Dale county Sheriff's Office and the Alabama State Police all collaborated on the standoff

Alabama State Senator Harri Anne Smith who has been in close contact with the family throughout the ordeal said to MailOnline, 'Mom has been incredible, she has been so brave and has always known her son would be brought home safe.'

'I know there will be lots of hugs and kisses tonight,' said Senator Harri Anne Smith to the MailOnline.

'For her there has only ever been one possible outcome.'

The senator who spoke with Ethan's mother shortly before she left to be reunited with her son continued: 'She has been surrounded by people praying and has had a lot of support.

'Her father has been a rock to her and her older son and her sisters.'

Authorities said were forced to act at 3.12 p.m. (CST) after concern for the suspect’s mental state grew as they witnessed him brandishing a gun and ultimately 'fearing the child was in imminent danger.'

Dykes was killed during the fast-acting operation but law enforcement officials have yet to provide details on how he died.

Federal agents jumped into action after high-tech but secret video surveillance inserted into the bunker revealed that the mental state of Richard Lee Dykes was deteriorating rapidly.

There were reports of one or two loud bangs on the property, and a neighbor who lives about a quarter-mile from where Dykes was holed up told the Associated Press that he heard a boom followed by a gunshot

Another neighbor, 16-year-old Micah Senn, 16, who lives a few hundred yards away, told AL.com that he heard an explosion followed by four to five rounds of gunfire.



The boy identified all week only as Ethan was brought out from the bunker on Dykes' property appearing to be physically unharmed and is being treated at a hospital in nearby Dothan authorities said.



Friends of the family have said that Ethan has Asperger's Syndrome - a condition which has been likened to a minor form of autism and which affects a person's ability to interact with other people.

Ready to go: These heavily-armed agents with the FBI's Hostage Rescue Team gear up with equipment delivered in a Budget rental truck

Moving out: The federal agents were always at the ready and prepared to storm the bunker where little Ethan was being held

FBI Special Agent in Charge Steve Richardson said during a news conference this afternoon that negotiations had broken down during the day and Dykes had been seen to grab a gun.

Those actions forced the hand of FBI agents, who entered the bunker.

Agent Richardson said: 'At approximately 3.12pm, FBI agents safely recovered the child who was being held hostage for nearly a week.

'Within the past 24 hours negotiations deteriorated and Mr Dykes was observed holding a gun.



'At this point FBI agents fearing the child was in imminent danger entered the bunker and rescued the child.



'The child appears physically unharmed and is being treated at a local hospital. The subject is deceased.



'The resolution of the matter is a direct result of the extraordinary collaboration of law enforcement at all levels.'

CBS correspondents John Miller and Bob Orr confirmed the FBI's Rescue Hostage Team carried out the rescue when it was clear the kidnapper's mental state was deteriorating -- and he began brandishing a gun.



Stand-off: How police communicated with Dykes through a pipe into his bunker

Guarded: This is a glimpse of the property where Dykes was holed up in an underground bunker he had dug himself

The FBI is reported to have used flash-bangs to create a diversion before going in, and the whole operation was over very quickly.



An official said that 'seconds make all the difference' in these types of rescues.

The CBS reporters also said that Special Agent Bomb Technicians continue to clear the scene and only after their work is done will Evidence Response Teams move into process the scene.

Richardson said an independent review team is on its way from Washington to investigate.

Authorities also wouldn’t comment on the explosion heard at around 3 p.m. that presumably was part of the raid into the bunker.

However, the blast apparently came from a 'diversionary device,' an FBI source confirmed to NBC News . FBI officers then went through a door at the top of the bunker.

Dykes has been holed up in the six-by-eight foot bunker since Tuesday, when he allegedly got on a school bus and shot and killed driver Charles Poland before snatching Ethan and taking him to the hideaway about four feet underground.

Speaking to MailOnline, son Aaron Poland responded to the news simply saying, 'My dad's bus route is officially over.'

Eyes in the sky: Helicopters circled the sky around the bunker as the FBI closed in on Monday

In the days since his shooting Mr. Poland's family have felt certain that the driver would watch over Ethan until he was safely home



As news of the resolution spread, cars passing by the site honked their horns in celebration.



'The most important thing is we have a safe recovery of a child,' said Colonel Hugh McCall, director of the Alabama Department of Public Safety.

As of this evening though, officials have not yet provided details on how he died.

'Right now, FBI special agent bomb technicians are in the process of clearing the property for improvised explosive devices,' the FBI said in a written statement seen by ABC News.

'When it is safe to do so, our evidence response teams, paired with state and local crime scene technicians, will process the scene.'



Eyes in the sky: A sheriff's helicopter is seen stationed at the property of Jimmy Lee Sykes who was killed in a raid by FBI agents

Emergency: An ambulance that had been parked near the scene could be seen driving away, but it was not clear if anyone was inside

Heavily armed law enforcement officials confer after the week-long hostage crisis in Alabama ended with the rescue of the five-year-old boy who was being kept by 65-year-old Jimmy Lee Dykes

Armed FBI officers walk down a dirt track on the property of Jimmy Lee Dykes - who has died after a stand-off with authorities ended with the rescue of the five-year-old boy he was holding hostage

Having rescued the boy - FBI officials prepare to depart the remote property in Midland City, Alabama

Alabama hostage crisis law enforcement officers gave repeated updates to the media over the course of the week - but asked for some of the information not to be printed to aid their negotiations

Tense: Sheriff Willy Olson tells the media today that they're doing 'everything humanly possible' to bring an end to the stand off

Waiting game: Police and FBI at the Command Center in Midland City, Alabama, yesterday as they prepared to wait out the crisis as long as the five-year-old hostage was safe Contact: Negotiators spoke to Dykes via a phone thrown down a PVC pipe connecting the outside world and the bunker

Over the past days the media had abided by the security force's request not to report details of the agents' movements so as not to tip off Dykes - who reportedly had access to television and the Internet in his bunker.



On Saturday the presence of FBI and hostage rescue teams was notably stepped up.

Several vans transporting equipment from the nearby airport made their way up the dirt track to the left of Dykes's plot.



According to CNN the FBI had used U.S. military high-tech detection equipment similar to the technology used to discover homemade bombs in war zones.

It was unclear if the equipment, which is not available to civilian law enforcement, had been used by the FBI.

What is Aspergers Syndrome? How was Ethan's ability to interact impaired?

Aspergers syndrome is a form of autism which leaves sufferers fazed with significant difficulties in social interaction, along with restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior and interests.



The result is that they can have difficulty coping with mixing socially, working in certain kinds of jobs and developing communication skills. They may have problems with coordinating movements making them appear clumsy.



Unlike autism there are no significant delays in language development, people have normal intellect and have normal abilities to help themselves. They can adapt to different situations providing these do not rely on social interaction.



Asperger's syndrome appears to be more prevalent in males. It seems to start later than autism or at least is recognised later. Most children are diagnosed between five and nine years of age. There may be a close relative with a similar disorder.



Although speech development is not delayed there is a tendency to lapse into long detailed talk about topics which may not appear interesting to the listener.



Children with Asperger's may be solitary and emotionally detached, unable to enjoy joining in 'give and take' games or group activities with other children.



Although they may appear on the surface to be imaginative and creative they may tend to become obsessed with one particular system of ideas, which may dominate their activities and thoughts for many months or years at a time.



If they are lucky this behaviour will simply be regarded as quirky eccentricities by peers. Unfortunately some children with Asperger's syndrome can be mercilessly teased.



It is not easy to diagnose Asperger's syndrome. Children may be wrongly diagnosed with other neurological disorders such a Tourette's syndrome or autism.

One defense officials said no members of the military were involved in the rescue. They would have been acting a technical advisers, the official said to CNN.

Neighbours of Dykes had speculated to the media over the past week that the kidnapping was part of a plan to air certain greviences he had by gaining national prominence.

'Based on our discussions he feels like he has a story that is important to him, although it’s very complex,' said Sheriff Wally Olson of Dale County on Sunday.



Among Dykes's beliefs was that the government was harboring and hiding aliens that threatened to take America's weapons.



Several loud booms were heard just after 3 p.m. local time.



Rural: The standoff occurred outside Midland City, Alabama, a rural town in the deep southeast of the state, near the Florida border

Neighbour Lyndsey White arrived on the scene carrying six-year-old daughter Auden, her nine-year-old daughter Alexa by her side.



The Alabama Hostage Ordeal: A timeline of events Tuesday 29th January: Jimmy Lee Dykes commandeers an Alabama school bus demanding two children. Bus driver Charles Albert Poland Jr refuses and is fatally shot four times by Dykes. The 65-year-old survivalist takes a 5-year-old boy named only as Ethan to his bunker.



Wednesday 30th January: After having been alerted to kidnapping and now hostage situation, Dale County Sheriff’s Department officials and agents from the FBI begin negotiations with Dkes via a ventilation shaft the gunman has attached to his underground bunker.



Thursday 31st January: Experts continue talking to Dykes through a pipe - the only way to contact the bunker. Local community holds candlelit vigils praying for the standoff to end peacefully



Friday 1st February: Young Ethan is said to be crying for his parents. MailOnline reports that Dykes has demanded reporter in exchange for the boy as he wants to air his views



Saturday 2nd February: Saturday: Dykes allows toys and medication to be passed on via a ventilation pipe



Sunday 3rd February: Bus driver Charles Albert Poland Jr is buried amid emotional scenes as it is revealed that Dykes tricked Poland to stop his bus by promising him home-grown vegetables. It is also claimed that Dykes wants to hand over his hostage in exchange for a reporter or prime-time television exposure to tell his story.



Monday 4th February: Law enforcement officials say they are prepared to wait for weeks if not months for Dykes to give up Ethan until the situation deteriorates

She told the MailOnline: 'We live just beyond the trees. I heard a boom that rattled our windows and a knock-knock-knock like a popping. I called my dad and he said that's gunfire.'

She added: 'I'm just so glad the boy is safe. I can't imagine what she's been going through day after day, his mother, not able to put her baby to bed.'

As for Mr Dykes, she echoed the thoughts of many here saying, 'I find it hard. I'm a spiritual person. I pray for his soul - something was obviously very wrong there.'

About 10 minutes after the second boom, an ambulance that had been parked near the bunker for the last few days was seen driving off with no sirens or lights on.



Some neighbors claimed this afternoon that they heard gunshots at about the same time as the booms, but those reports have not yet been confirmed.

A law enforcement source said a stun or flash grenade was detonated as part of the operation to free the boy, but further details were not immediately available.



The reports came just hours after security forces said they were prepared to let the standoff run.

MailOnline has learned that Sykes had continued to demand '4 minutes on all major networks' to tell his story.



The boy was reportedly taken to nearby Flowers Hospital, about six miles away, but is not believed to be injured.

Ethan is going to be six years old on Wednesday.

In the days since Ethan's abduction MailOnline has learned that his family have spent their days at Midland Retirement Center.



They have spent their nights in different hotels, limping from day to day, waiting for the moment that finally came today.



Dykes, a retired Alabama trucker, has been described by those who knew him in Midland City as being a violent and paranoid man.

Alabama Governor Robert Bentley issued a statement detailing his relief at the resolution of the hostage crisis this afternoon in Midland City.

VIDEO Sheriff: Ethan was in a threatening situation, we had to go in

Scene: The boy was rescued by FBI agents seven days after he was taken into an underground bunker by the gunman

Law enforcement personnel station themselves on the property of Jimmy Lee Sykes today after they stormed a bunker in Alabama to rescue 5-year-old Ethan who was being held hostage

Officials say they stormed a bunker in Alabama to rescue a 5-year-old child being held hostage there after Sykes, his abductor, was seen with a gun

He thanked law enforcement agents for their efforts and explained that they had 'breached the bunker, the child was safe and the abductor was killed.'

'I am thankful that the child who was abducted is now safe. I am so happy this little boy can now be reunited with his family and friends,' said Governor Bentley.

'We will all continue to pray for the little boy and his family as they recover from the trauma of the last several days.

'She must have had a direct line to God because shortly after she left, they heard the news,' Nighton said to Fox News .

The pastor of the church, Michael Senn, who has welcomed reporters since the standoff began, said he was relieved.



So when I heard that he was OK, it was just like a thousand pounds lifted off of me,' he said.

Dykes, described by his neighbors as a paranoid survivalist, grabbed the boy from a school bus in Midland City, Alabama, just after 3:30 p.m. Central Time last Tuesday.

Loss: Family of Charles Poland, 66, the school bus driver gunned down by Dykes, mourn at his funeral on Sunday

Hero: Bus driver Charles Poland Jr, left, was shot while trying to prevent Dykes, right, from hurting any children

Remembering: A sign honoring bus driver Chuck Poland is posted to a tree in front of City Hall in Midland City ahead of his funeral which was held on Sunday

Friends and family in tears at the funeral on Sunday - stunned by Poland's shocking death

School bus: Last week law enforcement officials remove the bus that Charles Poland Jr was driving when he was fatally shot just outside Midland City, Alabama

'At the same time, we also want to remember the family and friends of the bus driver – Charles Poland, Junior.

'This man was a true hero who was willing to give up his life so others might live. We are all inspired by his courage and bravery.'

Melissa Nighton, city clerk in Midland City, said a woman had been praying in the town center Monday afternoon. Not long after, the mayor called with news that Dykes was dead and that the boy was safe.

Prayers: The deeply religious community united in prayer over the week for a peaceful outcome to the stand-off

And on Sunday, more than 500 people paid final tribute to the driver that was killed, 66-year-old Charles Albert Poland Jr., hailing him as a hero for protecting the other children on the bus.

At that funeral, Latoshia Reeves supported her daughter, Kimberley, 12, at the funeral of Poland, who has been described as a hero for trying to stop Dykes abducting five-year-old Ethan.



Today she reacted with delight at news of Ethan's safe relief though expressed sadness that Mr Dykes had not survived.



She said: 'It's just so sad - I'm glad that Ethan is safe and Kimberly is so happy he will be home for his birthday but Mr Dykes could have come out safe too.'

Long wait: Police say Jimmy Lee Dykes likely had supplies in his shelter to last weeks or months. He had previously spent eight days in the bunker At the funeral service, the bus driver was described as 'an angel who is watching over,' the little boy saiid Dale County School Superintendent Donny Bynum - as he read three letters from students who had been driven by Poland. 'You didn't deserve to die but you died knowing you kept everyone safe,' one child wrote. The FBI said that on Sunday the kidnapped boy had requested Cheez-Its and a red Hot Wheels car, both of which were delivered to the bunker the day before the successful raid. Authorities said they were also delivering medicine and other comfort items, and that Dykes had been making the child as comfortable as possible. Gathered: The world's media surrounded the scene of the shooting and hostage taking in Alabama Mission: Before today's resolution Law enforcement officials worked the scene of the hostage crisis to try and encourage Dykes to release Ethan peacefully Mel Adams, a Midland City Council member who has known Dykes since they were ages 3 and 4, said Dykes is estranged from his family.

Adams said he didn't know what caused the falling-out, but that he knew Dykes "had told part of his family to go to hell." Midland City Mayor Virgil Skipper said Dykes' sister is in a nursing home. Adams said that law enforcement officers had talked to Dykes' family members and advised them not to speak with reporters, and that officers told his sister there was nothing she could do to help the child in the bunker. 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. Dykes was trained in aviation maintenance and at one point was based in Japan. It was unclear if he saw combat in Vietnam. Community hopes: A sign of support was put up and flags flew at half staff in Newton, near Midland City, Alabama last week in solidarity for the hostage situation At some point after his time in the Navy, Dykes lived in Florida, where he worked as a surveyor and a long-haul truck driver. It's unclear how long he stayed there.

He had some scrapes with the law in Florida, including a 1995 arrest for improper exhibition of a weapon. The misdemeanor was dismissed. He also was arrested for marijuana possession in 2000. He returned to Alabama about two years ago.

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. Vigil: Mileah Lomaneck and Whitley Riley light candles during a candlelight vigil honoring bus driver Poland as they prayed for a peaceful end to the hostage situation over the weekend His neighbor Michael Creel said Dykes had an adult daughter, but the two lost touch years ago. According to Creel, his property has a white trailer that 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 stored tools and supplies. Creel said he helped Dykes with supplies to build the bunker and has been in it twice, adding that Dykes wanted protection from hurricanes. "He said he lived in Florida and had hurricanes hit. He wanted someplace he could go down in and be safe," Creel said. Authorities say the bunker is about 6 feet by 8 feet, and the only entrance is a trap door at the top. Such bunkers are not uncommon in rural Alabama because of the threat of tornadoes. xxxxxxxxxx



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