Man releases hostages, surrenders

MADISON, Ga., Jan. 5 (UPI) -- Authorities in Madison, Ga., say a former police officer surrendered peacefully Monday, releasing his infant son, estranged wife and a teenage girl.

David Dietz, 25, surrendered after allegedly kidnapping 7-month-old Allim Dietz; his estranged wife Eva Perez, 29; and Jamie Lynn Burgess, 17, in West Columbia, S.C., reported WSAV-TV, Savannah. No one was injured.

Burgess was named as a possible second suspect when police issued their initial bulletin, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Monday.

Dietz, in an overnight standoff with police, allegedly held the three in the Red Roof Inn in Madison, east of Atlanta, said an FBI spokesman Steve Lazarus.

The standoff began Sunday night after a state trooper saw a Ford Explorer mentioned in the police bulletin parked in the lot of the inn, Lazarus said.

Dietz, who briefly was a police officer in Columbia, traded notes during the standoff through a Georgia State Patrol robot, said the Journal-Constitution, adding Dietz reportedly had vowed not to be taken alive.