Two men charged in federal kidnapping case after Claremont abduction

A Claremont kidnapping allegation has turned into a federal interstate case, with prosecutors saying a woman was taken from the city in January, driven to Springfield, Vermont, and held there for more than 24 hours before police rescued her.

Damarcus Bonner, 30, and Tyron Harris, 27, are charged with kidnapping and kidnapping-conspiracy in U.S. District Court in New Hampshire. Federal prosecutors say the case belongs in federal court because the alleged crime began in Claremont and crossed state lines into Vermont, where the victim was reportedly held at a home in Springfield. The U.S. Attorney’s Office said the charge carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.

According to the complaint, the woman was beaten, burned, tortured and threatened while captors demanded ransom money. Springfield police responded in the early morning hours of Jan. 25, 2026, and rescued her. A search of the residence turned up a firearm, drugs packaged for distribution, duct tape used to bind the victim and items described as torture devices. The FBI is leading the investigation with help from the Vermont State Police, the Springfield Police Department and the Claremont Police Department.

Bonner and Harris, who are from Massachusetts and Connecticut, had already been charged by the State of Vermont and had been in Vermont state custody since January. Harris made his initial appearance in New Hampshire federal court Tuesday afternoon, while Bonner remained in custody as the federal case moved forward.

The federal filing adds another layer to a wider Springfield kidnapping investigation that drew arrests earlier this year. In February, six people were arrested in a related case, including Nicole Palardy of New Hampshire, and three other suspects from Massachusetts and Connecticut faced charges including maiming and extortion. That investigation began on Jan. 24, 2026, one day before Springfield police say they rescued the victim.

For Claremont, the case places a local city name at the center of a violent interstate prosecution. What began as an alleged abduction in New Hampshire now sits before federal prosecutors, where the next steps will focus on how the victim was moved across state lines, who helped carry out the alleged kidnapping and whether the evidence gathered in Vermont supports the life-sentence-level charges now filed against Bonner and Harris.