Northern California men charged with kidnapping Forest Service workers at gunpoint

Two Siskiyou County men have been charged with kidnapping two U.S. Forest Service employees who prosecutors say were abducted at gunpoint and held for 15 hours in a remote Northern California trailer.

Joseph Charles Henrichsen, 49, and Phoenix Henrichsen, 23, were charged Monday with kidnapping federal employees, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of California announced.

Prosecutors allege the employees were conducting fieldwork near Gumboot Lake Campground in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest when they were confronted, bound and forced to walk to the trailer.

Joseph Henrichsen later used one of the employees' phones to announce that he had taken two Forest Service workers hostage, prosecutors said. During the call, he allegedly described one employee as restrained and threatened violence against anyone who intervened.

That call triggered a large response involving the FBI and several other law enforcement agencies.

FBI negotiators ended the 15-hour standoff by securing the employees' release and the surrender of both suspects.

"I am grateful beyond words that both of our Forest Service employees are home safe," Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz said in a statement following their rescue.

Both men, who live in Siskiyou County, remain in custody.

Investigators have not disclosed what allegedly prompted the kidnapping.

Each man could face up to life in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted, the Justice Department said.

Shasta-Trinity National Forest spans the region around Redding and Mount Shasta, roughly 200 miles north of Sacramento.