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Wild audio from hostage crisis involving two US Forest Service workers in California
New York Post • • nation
Key Points:
- A man identified as Joseph Charles Henrichsen held two U.S. Forest Service workers hostage in Shasta-Trinity National Forest, demanding FBI negotiators meet him near Gumboot Lake without weapons.
- Henrichsen and his son allegedly abducted the workers at gunpoint while they were conducting fieldwork, leading to a multi-agency response including SWAT, sniper, bomb units, and an FBI hostage rescue team.
- After hours of negotiation, the two hostages were released safely around 1:50 a.m., and Henrichsen was arrested on federal kidnapping charges, facing potential life imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.
- Authorities are investigating Henrichsen's motive, noting he stopped cooperating, and highlighted his prior mental health issues and past accusations including a hate crime in Washington state.
- FBI officials emphasized the high risk of the situation, acknowledging that such crises rarely end without harm, while noting neither Henrichsen nor his son had prior local law enforcement history.
