Two men are facing federal charges for allegedly holding two US Forest Service workers hostage at gunpoint in a remote section of Northern California. Both workers were safely freed following an overnight standoff near Mt. Shasta that lasted 15 hours and included involvement from the FBI.
Per reporting from KTVU, the suspects consist of a 49-year-old father and his 23-year-old son, both from Siskiyou County. The two ultimately surrendered to authorities shortly before 2:30am on Friday morning.
That brought to end a tense ordeal that began the previous day when Siskiyou County Sheriff Jeremiah LaRue received a late-morning call about two Forest Service workers being held against their will in a trailer by Gumboot Lake in the Trinity-Shasta National Forest. One of the suspects then allegedly demanded to speak with the FBI.
Negotiations began around 4:30pm and reportedly lasted into the wee hours of the following morning. Zip-tied and held at gunpoint for the duration of the incident, the forest workers were eventually freed unharmed. To assist with efforts to resolve the standoff, the FBI's elite Hostage Rescue Team was flown in from Quantico, Virginia, the Chronicle reports.
Both suspects were subsequently charged with kidnapping federal employees. Authorities have yet to publicize any possible motives for the crime. This includes any potential rationale behind the elder suspect's desire to contact the FBI initially.
Other tactical elements deployed in the course of the standoff included SWAT officers, snipers, drones, and a bomb squad. In addition to the FBI, the effort saw participation from Homeland Security Investigations, the Bureau of Land Management, and numerous state and local law enforcement agencies.
Related: Body of Man Found In Lake Berryessa Suspected to Be Victim of Kidnapping
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