O Canada –
October 7, 2020 – James Helm, 76, and his wife, Sandra, 70, were kidnapped by four men from their home Sept. 27 in Moira and transported over the border with coverings over their heads, according to a complaint filed in federal court.
The next day, James failed to show up for work as town highway superintendent. One of the couple’s sons went to their house to check on them, found the front door open and called state troopers, authorities said. The son later got a phone call from a man who said he and his associates were holding the couple. The caller said they wanted to exchange them for the 110 pounds of cocaine they believe was stolen by someone authorities identify in docs only as “Individual 1” — or for the $3.5 million the stash was worth. The court document doesn’t say whether “Individual-1” had any relationship to the Helms, but their grandson, Macenzie Helm, 28, and his mom, Michelle Helm, had been busted a week earlier in Burlington, Vermont, for allegedly transporting cocaine for a larger organization. The Drug Enforcement Administration seized 110 pounds of cocaine from a rented van, but the bust wasn’t made public so any associates wouldn’t have known, CTV News reported.
