5 Year Old Boy Still Held Hostage

The 5 year old boy being held underground has received medicines as his captivity continues this morning with no break in the case. 

His parents are said to be "holding on by a thread" as hostage negotiators continue to communicate to the captor through a plastic tube. 

Jimmy Lee Dykes, 65, a Vietnam veteran described by authorities as a loner with anti-government suspicions and by neighbors as a paranoid menace, is suspected of taking the boy after storming his school bus Tuesday afternoon. School bus driver Charles Albert Poland Jr., 66, was killed in an attempt to protect the children.  

Dykes is said to have beaten a neighbor's dog to death with a pipe, and has, according to former neighbors, a reputation for angry outbursts and threats of violence.  

Late Thursday, Dale County Sheriff Wally Olson said the negotiations through the pipe were continuing, a local TV station reported.

He told reporters that the boy suffered from Asperger's syndrome and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder but had been able to get his medicine while held captive.  It is unknown what the boy's behavior has been like, or if any communication with him has taken place.  

Here is a quote from Clint Van Zandt expressing the opinion that the captor does not want to harm the child:   

"He doesn't want to hurt the child. He didn't take the child to hurt him.  The child is simply the means to keep law enforcement from crashing into his bunker right now."

He added: "Time is on the side of the negotiator."

This may be so, in terms of intention, but not according to history of the suspect.  Past incidences of violence are predictors of future violence.  What happens if the captor loses hope?  What if he feels his shield is no longer a valuable tool? What if his rage turns towards a boy who is hyperactive?

These factors must be weighing heavily on the minds of the negotiators just as his willingness to kill the bus driver does. 

James Arrington, police chief of the nearby town of Pinckard, told The Birmingham News that Dykes has been known to stay in his bunker as long as eight days.  It is not known if he has stayed in the bunker this long, by himself, or if he has had contact with the outside world. 

The source told NBC News that the man believed to be Dykes walked onto the bus on Tuesday with a note, demanding that two children be handed over to him. The bus driver refused and was shot and killed.

He said said the kidnapping appeared to be a "random" act by Dykes. 

It is not known yet why he sought two boys.  We note from press reports his gender choice.  

If it was just for a "human shield" for a standoff, why gender specific?

Please check by for updates and analysis of any statements made in the case.