Five Year Old Hostage Allowed Toy Car, Snacks

By Erin McClam and Gabe Gutierrez, NBC News

Credit: NBC News

A police source confirms to NBC News that this is the suspect in an Alabama hostage-taking, Jimmy Lee Dykes, 65.

February 4, 2013 Updated Feb 4, 2013 at 9:48 AM PDT

Authorities have delivered a red Hot Wheels car and Cheez-It crackers to the 5-year-old Alabama boy held captive underground for almost a week.

The FBI said Sunday that it had also delivered food and medicine for the boy, who has a mild form of autism. The agency said the boy’s captor “continues to make the environment as comfortable as possible for the child.”

Authorities said Jimmy Lee Dykes, a 65-year-old Vietnam veteran described by neighbors as a paranoid menace, boarded a school bus last week, shot and killed the driver and kidnapped the boy, named Ethan.

The two spent a seventh day Monday in the bunker, believed to be roughly 8 by 6 feet and to be stocked with supplies. The bunker has a ventilation pipe that authorities have used to deliver items. Authorities have not said how long they believe Dykes can last underground, or discussed a motive for the kidnapping.

Jeffrey Gardere, a child psychologist, said that the boy “is most likely terrified.

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