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A 5-year-old boy held captive for seven days in an underground bunker in southern Alabama is alive and his kidnapper is dead, Special Agent in Charge Stephen Richardson said at a press briefing on Monday afternoon.

Richardson, of the Mobile, Ala. FBI office, said the situation had deteriorated in the 24 hours and that the kidnapper, 65-year-old Jimmy Lee Dykes, appeared to have a gun.

“Within the past 24 hours negotiations deteriorated and Mr. Dykes was observed holding a gun," Richardson said in a brief statement. "At this point, FBI agents, fearing the child was in imminent danger, entered the bunker and rescued the child.”

The child was recovered at 3:12 p.m. CT and appears physically unharmed, Richardson said. He is being treated at a local hospital.

 

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