Two U.S. Forest Service personnel were released safely from captivity Friday. A father and son are now in custody, accused of taking them hostage for hours.
The two workers were out doing field work in Shasta-Trinity National Forest 210 miles north of San Francisco on Thursday morning when they were taken hostage by two armed individuals, U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz said at a press conference posted online by the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office.
Suspect Joseph Henrichsen, 49, and his adult son Phoenix Henrichsen are accused of zip-tying and restraining the two Forest Service employees inside a trailer at Gumboot Lake inside the national forest.
The elder Mr. Henrichsen told law enforcement that he had other guns and ammunition, and wanted to speak to the FBI, Siskiyou County Sheriff Jeremiah LaRue said at the press conference.
Siskiyou deputies arrived at the scene at around 1 p.m. local time Thursday but were only able to begin negotiations at around 4:20 p.m. The two hostages, whom Sheriff LaRue did not publicly identify, were released at around 1:50 a.m. Friday morning, and the father and son came out of the trailer at around 2:30 a.m.
The elder Mr. Henrichsen had an AR-15, knives and claimed to have grenades at the time of his arrest, FBI Sacramento acting Special Agent-in-Charge Brian Tosh said.
U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California Eric Grant said that both father and son will face charges of kidnapping a federal employee. Mr. Tosh said that authorities are still investigating their motive for the alleged kidnappings and why they wanted to speak to the FBI.
The two Forest Service workers were biologists, FBI Director Kash Patel said on social media. Mr. Schultz said that the two employees were doing “seasonal work they would do on a regular basis” at the time of the incident.
Mr. Patel wrote, “After nearly 10 hours of negotiations, the hostages were safely released … I am proud of the immediate and professional work of these elite FBI teams to assist our partners for a safe and successful resolution.”
Mr. Schultz said in a statement on social media that “I’m grateful beyond words that both of our Forest Service employees taken hostage on the Shasta-Trinity National Forest are home safe.”
