FBI Used Hidden Camera To Monitor Alabama Child Hostage [Report]

The FBI is said to have used a hidden camera during this week’s lengthy hostage standoff in Alabama, during which time the alleged hostage taker was eventually killed and the boy he kept captive was returned home safe.

According to reports, the FBI used the hidden camera to monitor the situation within the bunker during the standoff with with Jimmy Lee Dykes, 65. Dykes had shot and killed school bus driver Charles Albert Poland, 66 as he snatched the kindergartner, identified in press reports only as a boy named Ethan, and, in the 24 hours leading up to the rescue, police say the situation had deteriorated.

After Ethan was returned home safely, a great aunt of the child told press the family was thrilled at the outcome:

“If I could, I would do cartwheels all the way down the road … I was just ecstatic. Everything just seemed like it was so much clearer. You know, we had all been walking around in a fog, and everybody was excited. There’s no words to put how we felt and how relieved we were.”

Britain’s Telegraph cites an NPR report indicating that, while Dykes had originally been attentive and caring, the FBI used the hidden camera to keep watch, and, in the day leading up to the standoff’s end, the man had begun to neglect the child:

“Officials monitored Dykes with a camera they had managed to get into the underground shelter, according to NPR.”

“Dykes initially attended to the boy’s needs and seemed to sleep peacefully, but later appeared agitated and ignored the child, sources told NPR, which cited unnamed law enforcement officials.”

Law enforcement officials have not confirmed that the FBI used the hidden camera, nor have they indicated exactly how the hostage standoff came to an end.