Overview
- Two U.S. Forest Service employees who were doing routine fieldwork were zip‑tied and held at gunpoint inside a trailer in the Gumboot Lake area of the Shasta‑Trinity National Forest on Thursday.
- Local deputies used drones to locate the trailer and law enforcement from multiple counties plus federal teams converged on the remote site during a response that included SWAT, negotiators and a bomb squad.
- Negotiations began late Thursday and the two hostages were freed early Friday morning, after which Joseph Charles Henrichsen and his adult son Phoenix surrendered and were taken into custody.
- Authorities say Joseph Henrichsen had an AR‑15‑style rifle and knives, claimed to possess grenades, and both men now face federal charges of kidnapping federal employees while investigators continue to probe motive and search evidence.
- The campground and nearby areas were temporarily closed during the standoff, the workers have returned home and officials have asked the public to provide tips to the FBI as the investigation proceeds.