Members of the FBI team wait in Midland City, Ala.
Cade Smith, 6, watches the flame of his candle burn as his mother, Brandi, looks on during a candlelight vigil for the families involved in the ongoing hostage crisis Friday night in Midland City, Ala. The Smith family feels a connection to the autistic boy named Ethan being held hostage because their son, Cade, also has autism.MIDLAND CITY, Ala. – As the police standoff with an Alabama man accused of holding a 5-year-old boy hostage continued Saturday, a nearby community prepared to bury the beloved bus driver who was shot to death trying to protect children on his bus when the episode began days earlier.
Charles Albert Poland Jr., 66, who was known around town as Chuck, was described by folks in his hometown of Newton as a humble hero. Visitation services for Poland were scheduled for Saturday evening, and his funeral was set for Sunday afternoon.
“I believe that if he had to do it all over again tomorrow, he would,” said Poland’s sister-in-law, Lavern Skipper. “He would do it for those children.”
Authorities said Jim Lee Dykes boarded a stopped school bus filled with 21 children Tuesday afternoon and demanded two boys between 6 and 8 years old. When Poland tried to block his way, the gunman shot him several times and took one 5-year-old boy – who police say remains in an underground bunker with Dykes.
Dale County Sheriff Wally Olson said in a briefing with reporters Saturday that Dykes has told them he has blankets and an electric heater in the bunker on his property. Authorities have been communicating with Dykes through a ventilation pipe to the underground bunker.