Prosecutors in New Hampshire say they have evidence that the father of a 7-year-old girl missing for more than two years showed a pattern of abuse since he took sole custody of the girl, allegedly telling his brother, “I bashed her around this house.”
Manchester Police say Adam Montgomery, 31, was arrested New Years Eve sleeping while in a car after he gave contradictory statements about the whereabouts of his daughter, Harmony Montgomery, who has not been seen since late October 2019.
A police affidavit says when officers told Montgomery that Harmony hadn’t been seen in two years, he did not show much emotion.
Police opened a missing person’s investigation in December, about a month after she was reported missing by her mother, Crystal Sorey. According to court documents, Sorey lost custody of her daughter in 2018 because of substance abuse issues, leaving custody of Harmony to Adam Montgomery.
Sorey told investigators she last saw Harmony in a Facetime call around Easter 2019 and that the girl looked frightened. She said Adam Montgomery then blocked her cell phone and cut off contact via social media.
Court documents show that family members told investigators that Montgomery physically abused Harmony. He allegedly gave her a black eye, forced her to “stand in the corner for hours” and scrub toilets with her toothbrush, according to the documents.
Court documents show that family members told investigators that Montgomery physically abused Harmony. He allegedly gave her a black eye, forced her to “stand in the corner for hours” and scrub toilets with her toothbrush, according to the documents.
According to the affidavit, in a December 30 interview with police, Kevin Montgomery told police that when Harmony was five, Adam Montgomery said he slapped her, blackening her eye. Kevin Montgomery said he believed Adam had relapsed on drugs, and he told police there had been other “forms of abusive discipline.”
The affidavit also reports that Adam’s current wife, Kayla Montgomery, told investigators that in November or December 2019, Adam told her she was driving the girl to Lowell, Massachusetts, to see see her mother. She told police that was the last time she saw Harmony.
Early Thursday, the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office announced that Kayla Montgomery, 31, was arrested on one charge of felony welfare fraud for allegedly obtaining more than $1,500 in food stamp benefits illegally. The complaint alleges that Kayla Montgomery failed to remove Harmony Montgomery from the family’s account with the state’s Division of Family Assistance once she was no longer living with her and Adam Montgomery.
Kayla Montgomery is expected to be arraigned Thursday morning in Hillsborough County Superior Court North.
New Hampshire’s Director of Children Youth and Family Joe Ribsam says the Department last had contact with Harmony in October 2019.
“It’s difficult to account for things that happen when we’re not engaged with the family,” Ribsam said. “A lot of what’s important right now is to try and figure out what has been happening to this young girl for the last few years.”
New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu defended the department, saying it is run by “terrific people.”
“We brought in a whole new team just a few years ago, revamped our systems and quality assurance and control process,” Sununu said.
The case has brought the community together to find Harmony. Manchester police said $43,000 in reward money has been raised in effort to generate tips.
Adam Montgomery waived his scheduled arraignment in Manchester on Wednesday and agreed to preventative detention.
Manchester Police Chief Allen Aldenberg said the department is fully committed to the search for Harmony and hopes to find her alive
“Enough is enough,” he said. “This is a 7-year-old girl. Let’s find her.”
