BC firm's materials in space
$10K discrimination ruling
Quesnel pulp mill sold
Inquiry into B.C. port strike
Is decaf coffee bad for you?
Ex-cop tries to quash charge
PM pledges deportations
Trump trial arguments begin
Ghost guns to high court
Nude Beverages sells line
Wealth gap widening
Canadian Honda EV plant 
Leafs even series
Cristall gets pro look
Warriors even series in OT
Swift breaks Spotify record
Cudi Coachella set cut short
Bon Jovi 'hasn't been a saint'
As a police standoff with a man accused of holding a 5-year-old boy hostage in an underground bunker in Alabama entered its fifth day, authorities were saying little except that their talks with the 65-year-old loner were continuing through a ventilation pipe.
Negotiators were still trying Saturday to persuade Jimmy Lee Dykes to surrender. Police have said they believe the Vietnam-era veteran fatally shot a school bus driver on Tuesday, and then abducted the boy from the bus and disappeared into the home-made bunker.
While police were mostly staying mum about the delicate negotiations, it fell to neighbours to fill in the blanks about Dykes, described by some as a menacing figure who held anti-government views.
One of Dykes' next-door neighbours said the suspect spent two or three months constructing the bunker, digging into the ground and then building a structure of lumber and plywood, which he covered with sand and dirt.
Neighbour Michael Creel said Dykes put the plastic pipe underground from the bunker to the end of his driveway so he could hear if anyone drove up to his gate. When Dykes finished the shelter a year or so ago, he invited Creel to see it, and he did.
"He was bragging about it. He said, 'Come check it out," Creel said.
He said he believes Dykes' goal with the standoff is to publicize his political beliefs.
"I believe he wants to rant and rave about politics and government," Creel said. "He's very concerned about his property. He doesn't want his stuff messed with."
Police have used a ventilation pipe to the bunker to talk to the man and deliver the boy medication for his emotional disorders, but they have not revealed how often they are in touch or what the conversations have been about. Authorities waited until Friday to confirm the suspect's identity.
