A man has been arrested in the case of his missing 7-year-old daughter, authorities in New Hampshire said Wednesday, the latest twist in the case of Harmony Montgomery’s disappearance, which remains unsolved.
Adam Montgomery, a 31 year-old from Manchester, was arrested Tuesday on a warrant charging him with felony second-degree assault arising form 2019 conduct against Harmony, as well as one misdemeanor charge of interference with custody and two misdemeanor charges of endangering the welfare of a child pertaining to Harmony, the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office said.
Despite the arrest, the search for Harmony continues, authorities said.
Adam Montgomery had been set to be arraigned at noon in Hillsborough County Superior Court North Wednesday but did not appear after his arraignment and bail conditions were agreed to by lawyers.
Anyone with information about the disappearance of Harmony Montgomery, a young girl last seen in 2019, is asked to call 603-203-6060.
Police in Manchester said at a news conference Friday that they were only notified of Harmony’s disappearance last week when they received a call from the state’s Division for Children, Youth and Families. She had reportedly not been seen since late 2019.
Police have not said who Harmony was supposed to be living with over the last two years.
“The circumstances surrounding this prolonged absence are very concerning and are being thoroughly investigated,” the department said in a statement Friday.
Detectives have been investigating “non-stop” since becoming aware that Harmony was missing, the department added. They are working in conjunction with DCYF and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The FBI has also joined the investigation.
“At this time I have dedicated all available resources and personnel to locating Harmony. I encourage anyone to contact the Manchester Police Department with any relevant information which will help us in locating Harmony,” Police Chief Allen Aldenberg said Friday.
The last time Harmony was seen, Aldenberg said, was during a Manchester police call for service in October of 2019 at a residence in the city. He said it’s possible she was seen somewhere outside of the city since that time, however.
“For us to have a two year delay, that is extremely concerning. That’s not something that happens to us on a regular basis,” he said. “It doesn’t happen every day.”
Aldenberg said investigators have spoken with “many family members,” but wouldn’t reveal whether that included her parents or who it was that reported her as missing. He said the last time she was enrolled in school was in Massachusetts.
Authorities in Manchester, New Hampshire, are looking for a child who was last seen two years ago.
No Amber Alert has been issued, he said, because investigators have not met the threshhold for issuing one, given that there is no specific information about who Harmony might be with or a vehicle she might be in.
New Hampshire’s child advocate told NBC10 Boston Tuesday that this case is unusual.
“It’s very rare that a child would not be accountable for two years,” said Moira O’Neill, the child advocate for New Hampshire, an independent oversight agency that monitors all children’s services provided by the state.
She can’t go into specifics about Harmony’s case, but said her office typically investigates whenever a report of a missing child comes in.
In a statement Tuesday, the Department of Health and Human Services said, “State and federal law requires us to protect the confidentiality of children and families served by and individuals engaged with the Division of Children, Youth and Families.”
Aldenberg has said he would like to know why it took so long for Harmony to be reported missing, but for now, he’s focused on trying to find her.
“We have to operate under the assumption that she’s alive and well somewhere. And somebody knows something,” he said.
Harmony is described as 4 feet tall, weighing about 50 pounds, with blond hair, blue eyes and glasses.
Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to call Manchester police at (603) 668-8711 or lead investigator Detective Jack Dunleavy at (603) 792-5561. Anonymous tips can also be called in to the Manchester Crimeline (603) 624-4040.
A reward is being offered in connection with the case.