Father, Son Charged With Taking Forest Service Workers Hostage

Two US Forest Service employees surveying land in Northern California on Thursday were abducted at gunpoint, zip-tied and marched to a trailer high in Shasta-Trinity National Forest, federal prosecutors said, leading to a standoff with law enforcement before their release. One of the suspects used a victim's phone to report he had taken "two fed (employees) hostage" and had "live rounds ready," officials said, triggering a large response from local, state, and federal agencies up a narrow mountain road. Authorities said they used drones to locate the trailer and opened talks with the captor, who demanded contact with the FBI and claimed to have firearms, ammunition, and grenades, CNN reports.

The 15-hour standoff ended late Thursday with the workers released 15 minutes apart and walking to safety; less than an hour later, the suspects—identified as Joseph Charles Henrichsen, 49, and his son, 23-year-old Phoenix Henrichsen—exited the trailer and surrendered. Both are charged with kidnapping federal employees and face up to life in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted, per CNN. Possible motives remain under investigation. Specialized FBI negotiators were brought from Virginia to help, per USA Today. "We definitely feel we could handle it locally," said FBI Special Agent Brian Tosh. "But it's a national asset—this is what they're trained to do."