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Forest Service workers taken hostage, held at gunpoint in NorCal, feds say
Los Angeles Times • • nation
Key Points:
- Two U.S. Forest Service employees were kidnapped and held hostage for over 17 hours in a remote area of Shasta-Trinity National Forest before being rescued early Friday morning.
- The suspects, father Joseph Charles Hendrickson and his adult son Phoenix, held the workers at gunpoint inside a trailer and were armed with an automatic rifle and grenades.
- A large multi-agency law enforcement response, including FBI negotiators and a hostage rescue team from Virginia, successfully negotiated the release of the hostages without physical harm.
- Both Hendricksons were taken into custody and charged with kidnapping federal employees, while the employees were returned safely to their families and are receiving support.
- Authorities withheld public information about the situation until after the safe rescue, highlighting the complexity and success of the coordinated crisis response.
