Gumboot Lake in Shasta-Trinity national forest. Photograph: Carol Underhill US Forest ServiceGumboot Lake in Shasta-Trinity national forest. Photograph: Carol Underhill US Forest ServiceKidnapped US Forest Service employees released after more than 12 hours, say authoritiesTwo men arrested after taking federal employees hostage in Shasta-Trinity national forest
Two US Forest Service employees were released early on Friday morning after being held hostage for more than 12 hours, authorities in far northern California said.
Law enforcement officers arrested two men for the alleged kidnapping near Gumboot Lake in Shasta-Trinity national forest, Jeremiah LaRue, the Siskiyou county sheriff, told reporters on Friday afternoon.
The incident began on Thursday morning before 11am, the sheriff said. His office received a call from a USFS law enforcement officer reporting that a man had the two employees restrained with zip ties and was holding them at gunpoint inside a trailer. The man was later identified as Joseph Charles Henrichsen, 49.
The call set off a massive response from law enforcement across the region, including local sheriffs offices, police departments and the FBI.
Officials said Henrichsen was armed with an AR-15 and knives, and said that he wanted to speak with the FBI. Around 4pm, authorities began negotiations with Henrichsen, LaRue said.
The hostages were ultimately released after 2am on Friday morning, and law enforcement officers were able to get Henrichsen and his son Phoenix Henrichsen to come out of the trailer, LaRue said. Both men will be charged with kidnapping of a federal employee, said Eric Grant, the US attorney for the area.
“I’m grateful beyond words that both of our Forest Service employees taken hostage on the Shasta-Trinity national forest are home safe,” Tom Schultz, the USFS chief, said in a statement.
Authorities did not elaborate about exactly what unfolded during the negotiations or Henrichsen’s alleged motivations. The workers were abducted in the remote area as they were doing routine fieldwork, officials said.
LaRue said his office had not previously interacted with Henrichsen.
Newspaper articles and social media indicate that the father and son previously lived in Washington.
In 2022, the Bellingham Herald reported that Joseph Charles Henrichsen had been accused of a hate crime for allegedly harassing his landlords. A judge ruled Henrichsen incompetent to stand trial but the case was dismissed due to delays in admitting him to a state hospital.
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