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A father and son have been charged with kidnapping two U.S. Forest Service employees who were held hostage during a 15-hour standoff last week in a remote area of Northern California’s Shasta-Trinity National Forest, federal prosecutors said July 20.
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Joseph Charles Henrichsen, 49, and Phoenix Henrichsen, 23, are accused of abducting the employees near the Gumboot Lake Campground in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest on July 16, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California. At the time of the incident, prosecutors said the employees were conducting field work in the area.
“The employees were abducted at gunpoint, bound, and taken to a trailer where they were held for the next 15 hours,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a news release.
During the alleged kidnapping, prosecutors said Joseph Henrichsen used one of the victims’ phones to make a call stating that he had taken two Forest Service employees hostage and that one of the victims was “ziptied” with their hands behind their back. He also allegedly said he had “live rounds ready to [expletive] anyone who [expletives] with me,” according to prosecutors.
The call triggered a large law enforcement response involving local, state and federal agencies, prosecutors said. Negotiators from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Hostage Rescue Team eventually secured the release of both employees and the surrender of the suspects following a 15-hour standoff.
US Forest Service employees freed amid 15-hour standoff
Authorities said the incident unfolded on the afternoon of July 16 near the Gumboot Lake area in Siskiyou County, a rugged forested area west of Interstate 5 and near the Oregon border. The hostages were held in a trailer in rugged terrain that complicated the response effort.
Federal authorities began negotiations at around 4:20 p.m. local time, reported the Record Searchlight, part of the USA TODAY Network. The first hostage was released shortly after 1:30 a.m. local time July 17, followed by the second about 15 minutes later.
Joseph Henrichsen and his son surrendered around 2:30 a.m. local time, ending the standoff without shots being fired, authorities said.
“The hostages are OK,” a Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson said after the rescue.
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At a news conference on July 17, authorities said Joseph Henrichsen was heavily armed during the standoff. FBI Special Agent Brian Tosh said investigators learned that the suspect had an AR-15-style rifle and knives, and claimed to possess grenades, though authorities had not confirmed whether explosive devices were recovered.
The incident prompted temporary closures around the Gumboot Lake area as law enforcement secured the scene. Forest Service officials had urged the public to avoid the area throughout the operation.
The Shasta-Trinity National Forest spans more than 2 million acres across Northern California and contains vast stretches of remote terrain where access can be challenging for emergency responders.
Motive in hostage incident remains unclear
Federal authorities have not disclosed why the Forest Service employees were targeted or what led to the encounter between the suspects and the victims. The two employees have not been publicly identified.
The FBI investigated with assistance from the Forest Service, Homeland Security Investigations, the Bureau of Land Management, the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office, the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office, the Mt. Shasta Police Department, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the California Highway Patrol.
If convicted, the suspects face a maximum statutory penalty of life in prison and a $250,000 fine, according to prosecutors.
Contributing: David Benda and Jenny Espino, USA TODAY Network
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Father, son charged with kidnapping Forest Service workers at gunpoint
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Reporting by Thao Nguyen, USA TODAY / USA TODAY
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