One day after a man kidnapped Ethan Alexander Turner, then Ethan Gilliam, from a school bus in rural Dale County, Alabama, in 2013, Turner graduated from Abbeville High School along with two of his siblings. His mother, Nicci Turner, reminded her children that trauma does not define their future and encouraged them to keep going.
ABBEVILLE, Ala. - Thirteen years after a man kidnapped 5-year-old Ethan Alexander Turner, then Ethan Gilliam, and held him in an underground bunker for six days, Turner is moving forward with a new milestone: a high school diploma and plans for his future.
Turner was abducted in 2013 from a school bus in rural Dale County, Alabama. , Jimmy Lee Dykes, his captor, killed the bus driver during the kidnapping. The case drew national attention as law enforcement worked for days to rescue the Ethan.
“I don’t want people to be like, ‘Oh, he’s this boy’ or this dude,” Turner said. “I want them not to be scared to go on a bus or do that just because of what happened,” Ethan told WTVY News4 on Friday. Nicci and Brandon Turner, a deeply-religious family, later adopted him. Retired Alabama Department of Human Resources worker Judy Walding said she helped connect Ethan with the family.
“I reached out to them and I said, ‘Could he come stay with y’all during the holidays? ’” Walding said.
“And of course, they said yes … and he never left. ” Nicci Turner, a mother of 10, watched Friday as Ethan Turner and two of his siblings graduated from Abbeville High School. She said she has long reminded her children that trauma does not have to determine their future.
“What happens to you is not you. It doesn’t define you,” she said.
“And you don’t have to be a victim. You can pick yourself up and keep going. ” Turner said the graduation celebration — with family, friends and community supporters in attendance — meant “a whole lot” to him. Along the way, Turner found stability and an outlet through art and hands-on work, including painting, building and creating.
He also developed interests in nature and forestry. At school, Turner joined Future Farmers of America, learned trade skills and discovered a passion for welding. Former Midland City Elementary principal Phillip Parker said the graduation was emotional for teachers and staff who knew Turner when the kidnapping happened.
“It was very emotional for teachers and myself,” Parker said. “But he adjusted. I don’t know of a kid that could have done any better to come back into a situation that he was in and just be treated normal. ”One person who did not survive the 2013 attack was bus driver Charles Poland.
Retired Dale County Superintendent Donny Bynum said Poland would be proud of Turner’s progress. Turner said he hopes others facing their own challenges keep moving forward. Turner plans to attend Wallace Community College to study welding. In her graduation address, Henry County Superintendent Lori Beasley told graduates, including Ethan, they have control over what comes next.
For Turner, the next chapter comes after a childhood marked by trauma and a future he said is defined by persistence — and by what he builds next. Download the WTVY News4 app to get alerts and stories the moment they are published. Available for FREE in theDothan teacher jailed on 7 felonies, questions raised about when school reported allegationsFather arrested after 13-month-old boy found dead in car seat
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