It wasn't clear what supplies were in the bunker Thursday, Arrington said.
Tim Byrd, chief investigator with the Dale County Sheriff's Office, told the Southern Poverty Law Center's Hatewatch that Dykes was a "survivalist type" with "anti-America" views.
"His friends and his neighbors stated that he did not trust the government, that he was a Vietnam vet, and that he had PTSD," Byrd told the civil rights group. "He was standoffish, didn't socialize or have any contact with anybody."
The court date
On Wednesday, the day after the standoff began, Dykes was supposed to appear in court to answer to charges that he'd shot at Davis during a December argument over the dirt road that separated their homes.
Davis was moving out when his truck -- hauling a trailer -- dug ruts into the dirt speed bump that Dykes had built up across the road.
Dykes "got mad about what he saw" and stood by the side of the road, yelling and cursing, said Davis' mother, Claudia.
He then ran to his van, got a pistol and fired two shots at the truck, the Davises said.
Fortunately, no one was hurt, including Claudia Davis' 6-month-old daughter, who was inside.
The Wednesday court date in nearby Ozark was for menacing, a misdemeanor that carries a penalty of up to six months in jail.
Another neighbor, Ronda Wilbur, said Dykes beat her dog to death with a lead pipe and then bragged to her husband about it.
"He made it very clear that any animals or people that came onto his property would be killed," she said.
Wilbur said she complained to animal control authorities and thought that this would stop the behavior.
"He just got increasingly more bizarre," Wilbur said.
The boy
Very little information has been released about the boy.
Police and school officials have said the child is 6, but a state representative in close contact with the family said he is 5 and will turn 6 in two weeks.
One thing is for certain: the kindergartner didn't know Dykes, State Rep. Steve Clouse said.
Through a 60-foot-long PVC pipe that extends into the bunker, authorities have pleaded with the suspect to let the boy go -- to no avail.
The man agreed to let police send down coloring books, crayons and the prescription medicine the little boy desperately needs for Asperger's syndrome and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
But nothing else has changed.
As the standoff dragged into Thursday, the boy's parents were doing their best to hold it together.
They were "holding on by a thread," Clouse said.
The scene
On Thursday, dozens of law enforcement vehicles clogged the dead-end dirt road that leads to Dykes' house. They were from local police, the FBI, even the federal Homeland Security department.
