Harmony Montgomery: Arrest made in connection with New Hampshire girl missing since 2019

MANCHESTER, N.H. — The father of a New Hampshire girl missing since 2019 — but reported missing just last week — has been arrested and charged with assaulting the girl before her disappearance.

Adam Montgomery, 31, of Manchester, was arrested Tuesday and charged with the felony second-degree assault of Harmony Montgomery, according to authorities. Montgomery is also charged with interference with custody and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child.

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Meanwhile, the search for the missing 7-year-old continues. The FBI and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children are assisting with that search.

Harmony, who was 5 the last time she was seen alive, is described as having blonde hair and blue eyes. Her last known weight is about 50 pounds and her height is listed as 4 feet.

The girl is blind in her right eye and should be wearing glasses.

“The circumstances surrounding this prolonged absence are very concerning and are being thoroughly investigated,” Manchester police Chief Allen Aldenberg told reporters on Friday.

Despite that concern, and detectives’ urgency in finding Harmony, the chief said an Amber Alert for the child could not be issued.

“At this point, we have not met the threshold to issue an Amber Alert, as we do not have specific information as to who Harmony may be with or a vehicle that she may be in,” Aldenberg said.

A dedicated tip line has been established to field calls about the missing girl. A reward of $33,000 is also being offered in the case.

Watch Monday’s news conference about Harmony Montgomery’s disappearance below.

Boston 25 News reported that Harmony spent the first several years of her life being shuttled from her mother’s custody to the custody of Massachusetts’ Department of Children and Families. DCF records obtained by the news station indicate she was placed in Montgomery’s custody in February 2019, at the age of 5.

It was not immediately clear why Harmony was placed with her father, who has a criminal history in both Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

The girl was last seen alive in October 2019 at a home in Manchester, according to Aldenberg.

Authorities were only made aware of Harmony’s disappearance last week, the chief said. According to The Daily Beast, a concerned email sent to the Manchester mayor’s staff was forwarded to the police department.

The email was “primarily regarding concerns with the New Hampshire Division for Children, Youth and Families” in connection with Harmony’s care, said Lauren Smith, the mayor’s chief of staff.

“I know people are going to say, ‘Well, here it is 2021, almost 2022, and nobody’s seen this young girl since late of October 2019. So, what’s happened in the last two years?’ Fair question,” Aldenberg told reporters last week. “That’s why I’m here today. Because we need assistance, we need help, and we don’t have many answers to many questions that we have.”

Watch the New Year’s Eve news conference about Harmony Montgomery below.

Police investigators have spoken to every family member they could find, and they will continue to do so as they try to find Harmony and determine what has taken place over the past two years, the chief said.

Kevin Montgomery, the uncle of Adam Montgomery, told The Daily Beast that the last time he saw the girl, she “looked like a scared puppy.” At that time, in October 2019, Kevin Montgomery shared a home in Manchester with several other family members, including Harmony and her parents.

An argument broke out one day that resulted in the police being called. It was unclear if that was the last time the little girl was seen alive.

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Kevin Montgomery said that Adam Montgomery stopped communication with several family members after that day.

“Then the pandemic hit and I just assumed Harmony and that side of the family was OK,” he said. “I was worried, of course, but assumed everything was OK because I had not heard anything.”

Aldenberg said Monday that his detectives are operating under the assumption that Harmony is still alive.

“I’m in rescue mode right now. This is not a recovery,” the chief said. “All efforts are focused on that Harmony is alive, and we are going to do everything that we can to find her in that condition.”

Anyone with information on Harmony Montgomery’s whereabouts should call or text Manchester investigators at 603-203-6060. They can also contact the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST (843-5678).

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