Father and Son Indicted in the Armed Kidnapping of Two Forest Service Biologists Near Mt. Shasta

Staff Report –

One of the strangest and most disturbing crimes to hit the Northern California backcountry in years is now headed toward a federal courtroom.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California announced that a federal grand jury returned a seven count indictment against Joseph Charles Henrichsen, 49, and his son Phoenix Henrichsen, 23, following a 15 hour hostage crisis in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest this July.

On July 16, two Forest Service employees were conducting routine environmental work near Gumboot Lake Campground, a popular spot in the mountains southwest of Mount Shasta, when the elder Henrichsen allegedly approached them carrying an AR-10 semiautomatic rifle. Prosecutors say he bound the women’s wrists with zip ties and held them in a remote trailer, using one of their phones to make calls, while his son kept watch.

The kidnapping triggered a massive response from local, state and federal agencies, with the FBI leading alongside the Siskiyou and Shasta County sheriff’s offices, Mt. Shasta Police, CHP, CDFW and others. Negotiators eventually secured the safe release of both victims, and the two men were arrested after an hours long standoff.

Both defendants face two counts of kidnapping a federal employee, and the father faces additional charges for assault with a deadly weapon and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence. Convictions could carry up to life in prison.

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