{"id":2874,"date":"2026-07-18T05:36:50","date_gmt":"2026-07-18T05:36:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=2874"},"modified":"2026-07-18T05:36:50","modified_gmt":"2026-07-18T05:36:50","slug":"two-u-s-forest-service-employees-rescued-after-being-zip-tied-and-held-hostage-at-gunpoint","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=2874","title":{"rendered":"Two U.S. Forest Service employees rescued after being zip-tied and held hostage at gunpoint"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Two U.S. Forest Service employees were rescued with the help of negotiators after being zip-tied and held hostage for nearly 15 hours in Shasta-Trinity National Forest in Northern California, officials said Friday.<\/p>\n

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The two employees were conducting fieldwork when two armed people took them hostage at gunpoint early Thursday, Siskiyou County Sheriff Jeremiah LaRue said at a news conference Friday.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

The suspect, identified as Joseph Charles Henrichsen, 49, had used one of the victim\u2019s phones to make a call stating he had taken the two Forest Service employees and he had \u201clive rounds ready to [expletive] anyone who [expletives] with me,\u201d the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office for the Eastern District of California said in a news release.<\/p>\n

The sheriff\u2019s office received a call at 10:55 a.m. from a U.S. Forest Service law enforcement officer reporting that the employees were zip-tied and being held at gunpoint inside a trailer at Gumboot Lake, near Mount Shasta, LaRue said.<\/p>\n

\u201cMr. Henrichsen indicated that he had firearms, ammunition, and wanted to speak with the FBI,\u201d LaRue said.<\/p>\n

The sheriff\u2019s office sent deputies and its special response team to the location \u2014 described as a rural and rugged area \u2014 around noon and deployed drones, he said.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

The FBI\u2019s Sacramento field office was contacted at 12:20 p.m. and deployed agents from Redding, a crisis negotiation team and SWAT, as well as a hostage rescue team and assets from Quantico, Virginia, said Brian Tosh, the FBI Sacramento acting special agent in charge.<\/p>\n

Just after 1 p.m., drones helped authorities identify a trailer where Henrichsen was. Soon after, local, state and federal resources began to flock to the scene, officials said.<\/p>\n

Negotiations started around 4 p.m.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot that transpired between that,\u201d LaRue said. \u201cAt about 1:50 a.m., the survivors, the hostages, the two employees of the Forest Service were released, and I\u2019m so incredibly proud of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The first hostage came out alone, followed 15 minutes later by the second, Tosh said.<\/p>\n

Then around 2:30 a.m., Henrichsen and his adult son, Phoenix Henrichsen, 23, surrendered and exited the trailer, LaRue said.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

At the time, Joseph Henrichsen had an AR-15 and claimed to have grenades, Tosh said.<\/p>\n

Both were arrested and charged with kidnapping of a federal employee. If convicted, they face a maximum penalty of life in prison and a $250,000 fine. It was unclear Friday night if they have attorneys.<\/p>\n

The employees were not identified. Officials did not detail whether they were injured.<\/p>\n

\u201cBoth are resting and will need some time to process this experience,\u201d Tosh said.<\/p>\n

An investigation into motive is underway. It\u2019s not clear why Joseph Henrichsen specifically wanted to speak to the FBI. LaRue said the men weren\u2019t known to law enforcement.<\/p>\n

A slew of agencies aided in the hostage crisis including the Shasta County Sheriff\u2019s Office, the Bureau of Land Management, California Highway Patrol and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.<\/p>\n

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Two U.S. Forest Service employees were rescued with the help of negotiators after being zip-tied and held hostage for nearly 15 hours in Shasta-Trinity National Forest in Northern California, officials said Friday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2873,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2874","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-u-s-news"],"yoast_head":"\nTwo U.S. Forest Service employees rescued after being zip-tied and held hostage at gunpoint - Trusted Moving Group<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=2874\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Two U.S. Forest Service employees rescued after being zip-tied and held hostage at gunpoint - 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