Two U.S. Forest Service employees kidnapped while working in the Shasta Trinity National Forest in Northern California before 11 a.m. Thursday were released early Friday after being held for more than 12 hours, officials said. Authorities said the workers were zip-tied and held at gunpoint inside a trailer near Gunboot Lake.
U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz said the employees were conducting field work and called the incident a "frightening experience for everyone involved." He said, "They weren't patrolling there, they were just going to do their work. It was just seasonal work they would do on a regular basis," and added, "I want to say how profoundly grateful and relieved that we are that our two employees were released safely. Their well-being continues to be our highest priority."
Two suspects, a father and his adult son, have been arrested, Siskiyou County Sheriff Jeremiah LaRue said. LaRue identified one suspect as 49-year-old Joseph Charles Henrichsen and said deputies received a call from U.S. Forest Service officials that one of the suspects had told authorities the two employees were zip-tied and being held in a trailer in a rural area outside the small city of Mount Shasta.
Multiple local and federal agencies responded, and law enforcement dispatched SWAT, hostage negotiators, a bomb squad and snipers to the remote scene; authorities said it was a little after 4 p.m. Thursday before direct negotiations began. "We attempted every effort to begin communicating with him to resolve the potential conflict," LaRue said.
LaRue said the two workers were released from the trailer a little before 2 a.m. Friday and were not seriously hurt during the ordeal. The 49-year-old suspect and his adult son surrendered around 2:30 a.m. Friday and walked out of the trailer carrying an assault rifle and knives; Brian Tosh, acting special agent in charge for the FBI's Sacramento field office, said that at the time of their surrender Charles Henrichsen "had an AR-15 and knives, and claimed to have grenades."
Deputies from the Siskiyou County Sheriff's office reached the remote area around noon Thursday, deployed drones to help locate the trailer and began calling additional law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, for help. Tosh said it was fortunate no one was hurt during the standoff. "Crisis situations like this don't often result in everyone leaving the scene safely," Tosh said.
Officials said they could not confirm whether the suspects owned or resided in the trailer and investigators do not yet have a motive. Shasta County Sheriff Michael Johnson said the remoteness of the trailer presented challenges for law enforcement, noting the rough terrain and one-lane roads in that part of Northern California.
U.S. Attorney Eric Grant said he plans to charge both men with kidnapping federal employees. Authorities said Henrichsen has been arrested on federal kidnapping charges and faces a maximum penalty of life in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted; prosecutors said a motive remains under investigation after the suspect stopped cooperating with authorities.
Scanner audio captured tense moments as the FBI negotiated with a man who identified himself on the air as Charles Perry, later identified as Joseph Charles Henrichsen. In the audio the man demanded that the FBI come and meet him near Gumboot Lake, saying, "I have two biologists in my custody right now ... I'm requesting FBI investigators speak to [me] so that I can release these hostages."
An FBI negotiator identifying himself as Russell is heard repeatedly trying to reach the campsite over a scratchy radio channel and following Henrichsen's directions. Henrichsen is heard giving specific instructions, including telling negotiators, "You can bring a rifle with you as long as you're not pointing at me. We can have a conversation. I would suggest coming unarmed, but you know, because if you have one, that might trigger something in me." The negotiator said agents would drive as close as the team would allow and would not point guns as they approached.
Authorities said the response included an FBI hostage rescue team flown in from Quantico, Virginia, in addition to local SWAT and specialized units that had been dispatched to the remote area.
Authorities identified the younger suspect as Phoenix, 23, and said neither man had a prior history with local law enforcement in Siskiyou County.
Henrichsen has previously been described as having a "spiraling mental health condition" in a separate Washington state case in 2022. He has been accused of harassing homeowners of Russian and Ukrainian descent, and a person with his name previously owned a mortgage business whose licenses were later suspended, officials said. Records indicate Phoenix attended Bellingham High School in Washington.