US Forest Service employees zip-tied, held at gunpoint in California

LATEST July 17, 2 p.m.Two U.S. Forest Service employees were zip-tied and held at gunpoint inside a trailer in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest before negotiators secured their release early Friday and officers arrested two suspects, concluding a nearly 15-hour hostage crisis that drew an FBI team from Virginia and law enforcement officers from across Northern California.

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The two Forest Service employees were conducting routine seasonal fieldwork Thursday when they were taken into a privately owned trailer, U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz said during a news conference. The Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office learned of the kidnapping around 10:55 a.m. after a Forest Service law enforcement officer reported that the employees were restrained and being held at gunpoint.

One of the suspects, Joseph Charles Henrichsen, 49, told authorities he had firearms and ammunition and wanted to speak with the FBI, Siskiyou County Sheriff Jeremiah LaRue said.

Deputies and the sheriff’s special response team arrived around noon and quickly deployed drones over the remote Gumboot Lake area. By 1:03 p.m., authorities had identified the trailer where the hostages were being held.

Nearly 30 minutes later, Henry Magnuski, an 81-year-old retired Palo Alto resident with a seasonal cabin near Picayune Lake, told SFGATE he was driving toward his property when officers in full tactical gear flagged him down on a forest road.

“At first, I thought it was a training exercise or something like that,” Magnuski said. 

The officers asked Magnuski for a ride farther up the road. He later learned two people were being held hostage and the route would be closed.

“I was totally amazed by this event because that area is really the backwoods, remote, far away,” Magnuski said. “Cars were going to the barricades every five minutes. It was incredible.”

Negotiations began around 4:20 p.m. and continued until early Friday morning, FBI Sacramento acting Special Agent in Charge Brian Tosh said. The first employee was released around 1:35 a.m., followed by the second about 15 minutes later. Both returned home after being assessed, and officials said they had received no reports of injuries.

“Crisis situations like this don’t often result in everyone leaving the scene safely,” Tosh said.

Around 2:30 a.m., Joseph Charles Henrichsen and his adult son, Phoenix Henrichsen, surrendered to authorities, LaRue said in a Friday afternoon news conference. Joseph Henrichsen was carrying an AR-15-style rifle and knives when he surrendered and had claimed to possess grenades, Tosh said.

U.S. Attorney Eric Grant said both men would be charged with kidnapping federal employees.

The Henrichsens surrendered approximately 40 minutes after the second hostage was freed. Authorities have not disclosed a suspected motive or explained why Joseph Henrichsen wanted to contact the FBI.

The FBI led the operation with support from the Forest Service, the Siskiyou and Shasta county sheriff’s offices, the California Highway Patrol, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Bureau of Land Management, Homeland Security Investigations and officers from eight counties.

Shasta County sent 30 sworn and civilian personnel, including its SWAT team, sniper unit, hostage negotiators, bomb squad and drone operators, Sheriff Michael Johnson said.

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The FBI also flew its Hostage Rescue Team from Quantico, Virginia, to Redding aboard a Boeing 757. Tosh said officials requested the national tactical team because the standoff could have escalated despite the perimeter established around the trailer. 

“It’s a national asset, and this is what they’re trained to do,” Tosh said.

Johnson said the rugged campground was reached by a narrow, single-lane road, complicating access to the resources typically available during an emergency in an urban area. 

Authorities withheld details during the standoff because public disclosures could have jeopardized the negotiations, Schultz said. The Forest Service will not identify the employees or release their ages without their consent. 

“Their well-being continues to be our highest priority,” Schultz said. “We’re staying close to them and their loved ones, making sure they have the support and the space that they need after what they’ve been through.”

July 17, 12:39 p.m.Two U.S. Forest Service workers were kidnapped in a remote area of the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, according to the Department of Justice, and an hourslong law enforcement response involving local, state and federal agencies ended with the hostages being recovered safely Friday morning, the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to SFGATE.

According to a DOJ news release, suspects in the kidnapping of the workers have been arrested.

The hostage situation unfolded in the remote Gumboot Lake area of Siskiyou County and led to the area being closed to the public after the standoff.

“The hostages are OK,” a spokesperson with the sheriff’s office told SFGATE. The sheriff’s office did not immediately identify the hostages, say how many people were involved or describe the circumstances leading up to the standoff.

The U.S. Forest Service also confirmed an active law enforcement incident in the area.

“The Forest Service was aware of an ongoing law enforcement incident on the Shasta-Trinity National Forest at Gumboot Lake,” Thomas Stokesberry, a spokesperson for the U.S. Forest Service’s Shasta-Trinity National Forest, told SFGATE. “Forest Service law enforcement is working closely with the federal, state and county law enforcement officials.”

Stokesberry asked the public to avoid the area where the hostage situation occurred and said the closure remained in effect Friday.

This breaking news story has been updated.