Father, son charged with kidnapping 2 U.S. Forest Service biologists at gunpoint

Joseph and Phoenix Henrichsen were charged with kidnapping a federal employee. “I’ve taken two fed biologists hostage,” the father is accused of saying in a voicemail.

A man and his adult son have been charged with kidnapping two federal biologists at gunpoint in a Northern California forest last week, leading to an hourslong standoff with law enforcement.

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Joseph Charles Henrichsen, 49, and Phoenix Henrichsen, 23, appeared in federal court in Sacramento on Monday but did not enter pleas to charges of kidnapping a federal employee and aiding and abetting.

An affidavit filed in support of the charges alleges that on Thursday morning, Joseph Henrichsen approached two U.S. Forest Service staff biologists who were on the job near Gumboot Lake Campground in Shasta-Trinity National Forest. The pair, who have not been identified, were conducting research for a study on frog habitats.