Two Men Charged With Kidnapping U.S. Forest Service Employees After Fifteen-Hour Standoff

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Joseph Charles Henrichsen, 49, and Phoenix Henrichsen, 23, were arrested today and charged with kidnapping federal employees in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. According to court documents, the defendants kidnapped two U.S. Forest Service employees who were conducting field work near Gumboot Lake Campground in a remote area of Siskiyou County. The employees were abducted at gunpoint, bound, and taken to a trailer where they were held for the next 15 hours. At one point, Joseph used one of the victim’s phones to place a call in which he stated that he had “taken two fed [employees] hostage from the Forest Service,” that one of the victims was “ziptied,” with [their] hands “behind [their] [expletive] back,” and that he had “live rounds ready to [expletive] anyone who [expletives] with me.” This call prompted a large-scale law enforcement response involving local, state, and federal resources. After a 15-hour standoff, negotiators from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Hostage Rescue Team secured the release of both victims and the surrender of the suspects. Both are in custody.