Forest Officers Kidnapped, Held Hostage At Gunpoint In CA Wilderness: FBI

SISKIYOU COUNTY, CA — Two U.S. Forest Service officers are safe after authorities said they were kidnapped, zip-tied and held hostage by an armed man for several hours on Thursday.

According to Siskiyou County Sheriff Jeremiah LaRue, the incident took place within a remote area of the Shasta-Trinity National Forest.

Around 10:50 a.m., LaRue said his agency was contacted by a U.S. Forest Service law enforcement officer, who reported that two agency employees were being held inside a trailer by a man later identified as 49-year-old Joseph Henrichsen.

The Sheriff's Office mobilized deputies and a special response team, using drones to find the trailer near Gumboot Lake. According to authorities, Henrichsen had zip-tied the two Forest Service employees and was holding them at gunpoint inside the trailer.

According to authorities, Henrichsen said he wanted to speak to the FBI, which prompted the standoff.

Negotiations with Henrichsen began around 4:20 p.m. and lasted several hours, LaRue said. The Forest Service employees were finally released around 1:50 a.m. on Friday.

"After hours of negotiations, the first hostage was released. Fifteen minutes later the, second hostage was released," said Brian Tosh, the active special agent in charge of the FBI's Sacramento field office. "We are so proud of these survivors and are beyond grateful for their release. Both are resting and will need some time to process this experience.

Henrichsen and his adult son eventually came out of the trailer and were arrested around 2:30 a.m., LaRue said. Henrichsen will be charged with kidnapping a federal employee.

"At the time, he had an AR-15 and knives and claimed to have grenades," Tosh said. "Crisis situations like this don't often end with everyone leaving the scene safely. We are very proud of the work everyone did today."

Multiple law enforcement agencies assisted with negotiations and the investigation, including the FBI, Bureau of Land Management, California Highway Patrol and California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

"I can't tell you as a sheriff just how incredibly thankful I am for our partnerships, not only from the state and the local communities that we serve, but also the federal government," LaRue said. "There was a lot that transpired."