Two U. S.
Forest Service employees have been freed after being held at gunpoint for 15 hours in a Northern California national forest.
The incident occurred Thursday at Shasta-Trinity National Forest.
Authorities were alerted around 11 AM when a Forest Service law enforcement officer reported the two employees were zip-tied and held inside a trailer at gunpoint, according to Siskiyou County Sheriff Jeremiah LaRue.
The identities of the employees have not been released.
More than two dozen law enforcement officers responded, including a SWAT team, snipers, hostage negotiators, and bomb experts.
Deputies located the trailer using drones around 1 PM in a heavily forested campground area near Gumboot Lake.
Drone footage showed one suspect carrying an assault weapon while walking in and out of the trailer.
Officers began negotiating with the suspects — Joseph Charles Henrichsen, 49, and his son, Phoenix Henrichsen, 23 — around 4:20 PM Thursday.
One suspect said in a phone call he had "live rounds ready" against anyone who interfered.
Police say the suspects had an AR-15 rifle, knives, and grenades in the trailer.
The suspects released the two Forest Service employees around 1:50 AM Friday and surrendered less than an hour later.
They were taken into custody Friday and face federal charges of kidnapping government employees. If convicted, they face life in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The suspects are believed to have targeted the park workers because they are government employees. The investigation is ongoing.
