Two U.S. Forest Service employees who were taken hostage while doing field work in Northern California were safely released.

SISKIYOU COUNTY, Calif. — Two Forest Service employees doing field work in Northern California were taken hostage by two armed individuals on July 16, officials said.

Both hostages were safely released in the early hours of the following day. Officials identified the two hostage takers as 49-year-old Joseph Charles Henrichsen and his adult son Phoenix Henrichsen. Both were arrested on suspicion of federal kidnapping charges, and their motive is currently being investigated.



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The incident happened around 11 a.m. while the two Forest Service employees were doing routine field work on the shafts of Trinity Forest. A Forest Service law enforcement officer called the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office saying that a man had two Forest Service employees zip-tied and held at gunpoint inside a trailer at Gumboot Lake near Mount Shasta.

According to Brian Tosh, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Sacramento Field Office, Joseph Henrichsen indicated that he had an AR-15 and knives and claimed to have grenades. He wanted to speak with the FBI, and the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office immediately sent out deputies and a special response team.

Around 1 p.m., the sheriff’s office was able to find the trailer where the Henrichsens were inside with the hostages.

The FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team (HRT) was also flown into Redding from Quantico, Virginia, in case the situation became more dangerous, said Tosh.

In a collaboration with the city, county, state and federal agencies, Siskiyou County deputies and the special response team communicated with the suspects and began negotiations around 4 p.m. At 1:50 a.m. on July 17, both hostages were released. By 2:30 a.m., officials said Joseph and Phoenix Henrichsen came out of the trailer.

Both were arrested and will be charged with kidnapping of a federal employee.

This is an ongoing investigation, and the FBI is urging anyone with information about Joseph or Phoenix Henrichsen to call 1-800-CALL-FBI or submit a tip to tip.fbi.gov.

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