Two Forest Service employees rescued after Shasta hostage

Two U.S. Forest Service employees were rescued early Friday morning after being held hostage at gunpoint for nearly 15 hours in a remote area of the Shasta-Trinity National Forest in Northern California. The employees were released unharmed following an extensive law enforcement operation involving local, state, and federal agencies.

According to Siskiyou County Sheriff Jeremiah LaRue, the two employees were conducting fieldwork when they were taken hostage by two armed individuals early Thursday, July 16. A U.S. Forest Service law enforcement officer reported the incident at 10:55 a.m. that day, stating the employees had been zip-tied and were being held inside a trailer near Gumboot Lake, close to Mount Shasta. Authorities identified the primary suspect as Joseph Charles Henrichsen, 49, who indicated he had firearms, ammunition, and wanted to speak with the FBI.

Sheriff's deputies and a special response team arrived at the rugged scene around noon and deployed drones to locate the trailer, which was identified just after 1 p.m. The FBI's Sacramento field office was contacted and deployed agents, a crisis negotiation team, SWAT, and a hostage rescue team. Negotiations with...