By GAYLE WEBER

gweber@dailynews.net

A nearly 15-hour standoff ended peacefully this morning in Hays.

Kansas Bureau of Investigation negotiators convinced 34-year-old Stephen Giebler to surrender at about 8:30 a.m. today after holding his two children, boys between the ages of 4 and 8, hostage during the night, according to Hays Police Department Lt. Phil Hartsfield.

Police responded to a delayed domestic disturbance call at the home on East 27th Terrace at about 5:30 p.m. Thursday.

"When officers arrived, they made contact with and observed a female who showed some signs that she had been battered, but not severely," Hartsfield said.

Hartsfield identified the female as Giebler's wife. Police tried to arrest Giebler in connection with the incident, but he refused to exit his house and would not allow officers to enter, Hartsfield said.

At about 8 p.m., KBI was contacted, and negotiators stayed on the phone with Giebler most of the night with HPD Police Chief James Braun serving as incident commander.

"There was never a threat of a weapon, and there was never a threat of harm to the children," Hartsfield said.

However, because Giebler, who Hartsfield said has a history of domestic violence, would not release the children, police did not want to enter and put the children in harm's way.

"We had to ensure the safety of all of them considering he had just battered his wife," Hartsfield said.

At daybreak today, Kansas Highway Patrol negotiators arrived on the scene to relieve the KBI negotiators.

At about 8 a.m., Giebler released the children, unharmed, into police custody and surrendered shortly thereafter.

Hartsfield said no charges have been filed against Giebler.

The police department is working with the county attorney's office to determine where the children should be placed. Giebler's wife was not the biological mother, Hartsfield said, but the children's mother was on the scene when they were released from the house this morning.

In addition to the KBI and KHP, High Plains Mental Health, Ellis County Emergency Management and the American Red Cross were on the scene for part of the night. The Hays Police Department's Special Situation Response Team provided support for officers on the scene.

"It allowed us through a very cold evening to rotate as they were covering the house in order to prevent cold-weather injuries," Hartsfield said.