Father and son charged in kidnapping of Service biologists

A father and son have been charged with kidnapping two federal employees after holding two U.S. Forest Service biologists hostage at gunpoint for approximately 15 hours in a remote Northern California forest last week. Joseph Charles Henrichsen, 49, and his son, Phoenix Jose Phillup Henrichsen, 23, made their initial court appearance in Sacramento on Monday, July 20, 2026, where they were ordered detained as flight risks and dangers to the public.

The incident began on the morning of Thursday, July 16, in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. According to an FBI affidavit, the two female biologists were conducting field work on frog habitats near the Gumboot Lake Campground in Siskiyou County when Joseph Henrichsen approached them brandishing an AR-15-style rifle. He ordered them to turn around, used zip ties to bind their hands behind their backs, and marched them to a white camping trailer where he and his son had been living.

Once at the trailer, Joseph Henrichsen ordered his son to clear space inside, and Phoenix Henrichsen later stood guard over the hostages at his father's command, the affidavit states. Joseph Henrichsen then took one of the victims in their Forest Service...