BIRMINGHAM, Ala.—The boy who was freed from an underground bunker is acting like a typical 5-year-old by all accounts, playing with toys and running around, but psychology experts and a woman who suffered through a similar ordeal warn there could be long-term emotional scars.

Ethan, the boy whom law enforcement officials have identified only by his first name, was rescued Monday when the FBI stormed the shelter and killed his kidnapper, Jimmy Lee Dykes, in a shootout. Ethan, who was not physically harmed, was taken to a hospital and reunited with family. He had his sixth birthday Wednesday.

"He's old enough that he will remember this. If he were 2 or 3, it might be another matter. But if you think of something really bad that happened when you were 5 or 6, you can remember those things," said Nadine Kaslow, a family therapist and psychiatry professor at Emory University in Atlanta.

She said he will need to be evaluated for nightmares and lingering signs of fear or trauma, like aggression.

"The most important thing for him is going to be to connect with the therapist and have a safe place to go," said Kaslow, the president-elect of the American Psychological Association.

Katie Beers was kidnapped in 1992 as a 9-year-old and kept in an underground bunker in suburban New York for 17 days before her captor surrendered and showed police where she was hidden.


She credited her foster family with giving her a loving home life and structure, noting the best decision they made was to keep her out of the public spotlight.

"In my experience, not being in the public eye helped out tremendously," she said.

Beers ended 20 years of silence last month, when she released a book co-written a television reporter who covered her kidnapping: "Buried Memories: Katie Beers' Story"










"We have psychiatrists, therapists, case managers who work with children in their home," she said.

A neighborhood friend described Ethan as being friendly and playful before the hostage drama, and authorities said they were able to provide him with toy cars, crayons and coloring books during the standoff. Kaslow said those descriptions were signs of normal behavior that could help him recover.

Authorities said the standoff began a week ago Tuesday when Dykes boarded a bus full of children and gunned down driver Charles Albert Poland Jr. as he sought to protect the 21 children on board. According to officials, the gunman then seized the boy, and fled with his hostage to the nearby bunker.

Authorities said Thursday that Dykes was shot multiple times during the shootout with FBI agents and his body has been taken to a state lab for an autopsy.

The FBI said it was still at the bunker but hoped to be done soon so residents could get back to their homes.

"We came in as uninvited guests and the entire community has welcomed us like neighbors who have known each other for a long time. We will never be able to thank them enough," said Steve Richardson, head of the FBI's office in Mobile.

Officials hope to eventually throw an event to celebrate Ethan's birthday and recovery, but family members of the boy told AP they were not yet ready.


Associated Press writer Frank Eltman in Mineola, N.Y., contributed to this report.