{"id":2631378,"date":"2026-07-17T19:53:02","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T23:53:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/california-forest-service-employees-freed-after-being-taken-hostage\/"},"modified":"2026-07-17T19:54:38","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T23:54:38","slug":"california-forest-service-employees-freed-after-being-taken-hostage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/california-forest-service-employees-freed-after-being-taken-hostage\/","title":{"rendered":"California Forest Service employees freed after being taken hostage"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fcalifornia-forest-service-employees-freed-after-being-taken-hostage%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2631378&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Two U.S.Forest Service workers were taken hostage in rural northern california while conducting fieldwork in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. Thay were held at gunpoint and zip-tied inside a trailer near a lake by Joseph Charles hendrickson and his son Phoenix, who wanted to speak with the FBI and indicated they had firearms and ammunition. The hostages were safely released around 2 a.m. after authorities, including the FBI, Forest Service law enforcement, and local agencies, responded to the incident that began on Thursday. The suspects had no prior history with law enforcement. The rescue involved drone surveillance and coordinated efforts among multiple agencies to resolve the situation peacefully. Forest Service officials expressed gratitude for the safe return of their employees.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Two U.S. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/forest-service\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"2354\">Forest Service<\/a> workers were freed early Friday morning after they were taken hostage in rural Northern <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/california\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"60\">California<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019m grateful beyond words that both of our Forest Service employees taken hostage on the Shasta-Trinity National Forest are home safe,\u201d Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/forestservice\/status\/2078217504086798827\">said<\/a> in a statement.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/crime\/4654201\/kidnapped-forest-service-employees-freed\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Kidnapped Forest Service employees freed after being taken hostage<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/sports\/4651333\/mamdani-world-cup-rikers-island\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Mamdani watches World Cup with inmates at Rikers Island<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/crime\/4651079\/dc-youth-curfew-zones-teen-takeover\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Long-term DC summer youth curfew has taken effect to rein in \u2018teen takeovers\u2019<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The employees were taken hostage\u00a0by two armed individuals on Thursday while\u00a0conducting fieldwork in the forest, according to the Forest Service. They were released safely around 2 a.m. on Friday.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Joseph Charles Hendrickson and his son Phoenix had the two workers zip-tied and held at gunpoint inside a trailer near a lake, Sheriff Jeremiah LaRue of Siskiyou County <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/reel\/3376928075813400\">said<\/a> in a press conference. Hendrickson indicated that he had firearms and ammunition, and he wanted to speak with the FBI.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to the Forest Service, authorities were notified of the kidnapping around 11 a.m. Thursday. A Forest Service law enforcement officer coordinated initial responses with the Siskiyou County Sheriff\u2019s Office and the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/fbi\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"516\">FBI<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAt about 1:03 p.m., using our drones, we were able to identify a trailer where Mr. Hendrickson was inside, and we attempted every effort to begin communicating with him to resolve the potential conflict,\u201d LaRue said.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Officials said the suspects did not have any history with local law enforcement.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4653767\/judge-rules-against-trump-firing-fema-cfo\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4653767\/judge-rules-against-trump-firing-fema-cfo\/\">JUDGE RULES AGAINST TRUMP\u2019S FIRING OF FEMA CFO<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The FBI led the joint law enforcement effort, with Forest Service law enforcement and local police supporting on the ground alongside other agencies, including the Siskiyou County Sheriff\u2019s Office, the Bureau of Land Management, the California Highway Patrol, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and other partners from eight counties. Authorities have not yet identified the victims out of respect for their privacy.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSecretary Rollins and Chief Schultz were engaged as this incident developed and progressed, and the Secretary was in direct contact with the FBI Director and the White House to ensure maximum support to end the crisis with our employees released safely,\u201d the Forest Service told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. \u201cWe are grateful to every one of them.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Forest Service workers rescued after hostage situation in California<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4195,"featured_media":2631379,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/AP25300095496335.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[82874,60869,82876,82875,40407],"class_list":["post-2631378","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-california-forest-service","tag-emergency-rescue","tag-employee-safety","tag-forest-agency","tag-hostage-crisis"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/AP25300095496335.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2631378","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4195"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2631378"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2631378\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2631381,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2631378\/revisions\/2631381"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2631379"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2631378"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2631378"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2631378"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}