Hostage Crisis Allegedly Involving Father And Son Holding Two Federal Employees At Gunpoint Ends After Hourslong Standoff

Two U.S. Forest Service employees were held hostage for hours throughout Thursday night in a Northern California national forest.

The federal employees were freed early Friday after being zip-tied and held at gunpoint for roughly 15 hours inside a trailer in Northern California’s Shasta-Trinity National Forest, The New York Times reported, citing Siskiyou County Sheriff Jeremiah LaRue. The hostage situation unfolded at a campground near Gumboot Lake in the forest. Authorities arrested the suspects, Joseph Charles Henrichsen, 49, and his 23-year-old son, Phoenix Henrichsen, after the employees were released unharmed, the outlet reported.

“Both are resting and will need some time to process this experience,” said Brian Tosh, the F.B.I.’s acting special agent in Sacramento, according to the outlet.

The motive of the hostage situation remains unclear, and law enforcement is still investigating the situation, the outlet reported, citing Tosh.

“I am proud of the immediate and professional work of these elite FBI teams to assist our partners for a safe and successful resolution,” FBI Director Kash Patel said in a post to X.

Yesterday and into the early morning hours of today, the FBI responded to a hostage situation in Shasta-Trinity National Forest in Redding, CA – where two individuals took two U.S. Forest Service biologists as hostages.

FBI Sacramento, including our Crisis Negotiators, SWAT… pic.twitter.com/yOZxLrewJ2

— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) July 18, 2026

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