Go Inside Real-Life Missions in CBS News’ ‘The FBI Declassified’

FBI agents and analysts take viewers inside a real-life race against the clock mission to save a 5-year-old boy held hostage by an armed gunman in the series premiere of CBS News’ The FBI Declassified, airing Tuesday, October 6 on CBS.

Narrated by Alana De La Garza from CBS drama series FBI, the series premiere episode, “Saving Ethan,” will give viewers unprecedented insight into the tactics investigators used to rescue a young boy kidnapped in rural Alabama.

Jimmy Lee Dykes jumped on a packed school bus in Midland City, Ala. on January 29, 2013. Dykes shot and killed the driver and kidnapped little Ethan Gilman. Dykes took the child to a heavily fortified underground bunker he had spent months constructing. The FBI says his mission was to take hostages to use as pawns in an attempt to share his anti-government grievances with the world.

FBI agents and analysts knew they had a limited window of time to breach the bunker and rescue Gilman. Could they pull it off? “Kidnappings are incredibly difficult for a number of different reasons,” says Steve Richardson, the FBI special agent in charge of the case. “There’s a child’s life at stake. … Emotions are high. … Time is of the essence.”

Screengrab/CBS News

Each week, the series will feature FBI agents and analysts taking viewers behind the scenes of some of the biggest cases they’ve solved during their careers. Through never-before-seen footage and in-depth interviews, each episode will focus on a different investigation and showcase the cooperation between the FBI and other law enforcement agencies.

The FBI Declassified, Premiere, Tuesday, October 6, 10/9c, CBS