Forest Service employees freed after California hostage standoff

Two U.S. Forest Service employees were freed early Friday after being zip-tied and held at gunpoint for hours inside a trailer in a remote part of Northern California’s Shasta-Trinity National Forest, authorities said.

The workers had been conducting routine fieldwork near Gumboot Lake, close to Mount Shasta, when they were taken hostage Thursday morning, Siskiyou County Sheriff Jeremiah LaRue said at a Friday news conference. A U.S. Forest Service law enforcement officer called the sheriff’s office at 10:55 a.m. to report that two employees were restrained with zip ties and being held at gunpoint inside the trailer.

Authorities identified the main suspect as Joseph Charles Henrichsen, 49. LaRue said Henrichsen told officials he had firearms and ammunition and wanted to speak with the FBI.

“Mr. Henrichsen indicated that he had firearms, ammunition, and wanted to speak with the FBI,” LaRue said.

The sheriff’s office sent deputies and a special response team to the rugged rural area around noon and deployed drones. The FBI’s Sacramento field office was contacted at 12:20 p.m. and sent agents from Redding, a crisis negotiation team, SWAT personnel, a hostage rescue team and resources from Quantico, Virginia, said Brian Tosh, acting special agent in charge of the FBI’s Sacramento office.

Just after 1 p.m., drones helped authorities identify the trailer where Henrichsen was located. Local, state and federal agencies then moved into the area. Negotiations began around 4 p.m.

“There’s a lot that transpired between that,” LaRue said. “At about 1:50 a.m., the survivors, the hostages, the two employees of the Forest Service were released, and I’m so incredibly proud of that.”

Tosh said the first hostage came out alone, followed about 15 minutes later by the second. Around 2:30 a.m., Joseph Henrichsen and his adult son, Phoenix Henrichsen, surrendered and exited the trailer, LaRue said.

At the time of the surrender, Joseph Henrichsen had an AR-15 and claimed to have grenades, Tosh said. The Guardian reported that officials also said he was armed with knives.

Joseph Henrichsen was arrested on federal kidnapping charges, LaRue said. Eric Grant, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of California, said both Joseph Henrichsen and Phoenix Henrichsen will be charged with kidnapping of a federal employee.

The Forest Service employees were not publicly identified. Officials did not say whether they were injured, but Tosh said both were recovering.

“Both are resting and will need some time to process this experience,” he said.

“I’m grateful beyond words that both of our Forest Service employees taken hostage on the Shasta-Trinity national forest are home safe,” Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz said in a statement, according to The Guardian.

Authorities have not disclosed a motive or explained why Joseph Henrichsen wanted to speak with the FBI. LaRue said his office had not previously interacted with the men.

A wide array of agencies assisted in the response, including the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office, the Bureau of Land Management, the California Highway Patrol and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

The Guardian reported that newspaper articles and social media indicate the father and son previously lived in Washington. The outlet also reported that the Bellingham Herald said in 2022 that Joseph Charles Henrichsen had been accused of a hate crime for allegedly harassing his landlords; a judge found him incompetent to stand trial, and the case was dismissed because of delays in admitting him to a state hospital.