A Vermont kidnapping victim escaped her alleged captors by driving away in the suspects’ truck with her hands still tied together.
Vermont State Police (VSP) have arrested Mack Varnum and Nichole Cloutier on charges of attempted first-degree murder, kidnapping and first-degree unlawful restraint in connection with the Feb. 23 incident. Varnum also faces one count of first-degree aggravated domestic assault.
Authorities initially responded to Bay Street in St. Johnsbury after receiving reports of a woman in a vehicle who had her hands and part of her head covered in duct tape.
First responders freed and treated the woman, who told investigators that the suspects picked her up on the side of the road near Varnum’s residence in Peacham in their truck, at which point the victim “was forcibly restrained and bound,” VPS said in a press release.
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The suspects drove with the victim restrained in their vehicle for several hours “while her life was threatened,” VSP said.
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“At one point the victim was left alone in the truck, enabling her to break free enough to drive away in the truck and escape. The victim then drove herself to Bay Street in St. Johnsbury Village,” the press release states.
Authorities located Cloutier and Varnum on Feb. 24 at their residence and arrested them. They are being held at the Northeast Regional Correctional Center without bail.
