WASHINGTON, D.C. – Another month has come and gone without answers related to the disappearance of 7-year-old Harmony Montgomery, who was last seen more than two years ago in New Hampshire.
“The system failed Harmony,” New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, a Republican, told Fox News Digital during the National Governors Association Winter Meeting in Washington, D.C.
Harmony was believed to have last been seen with her father and stepmother sometime between November and December 2019 – as many as two weeks later than the parents had initially told authorities.
Harmony Montgomery, 7, was reported two years after she was last seen. (National Center for Missing and Exploited Children)
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The 4-foot-tall, 50-pound girl with blonde hair and glasses remains missing. She was known to have lived in Massachusetts before being moved to New Hampshire. Her father, Adam Montgomery, and stepmother, Kayla Montgomery, are now in jail on charges unrelated to Harmony’s disappearance.
“The Harmony Montgomery case is gut-wrenching,” Sununu said. “We all want to bring her home safe, and we’re hopeful that there’s still an ability to do that.”
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New Hampshire’s Manchester Police Department has said it has received hundreds of tips related to Harmony’s whereabouts. Authorities are offering a reward of more than $104,000 for information leading investigators to the girl.
But what remains to be seen is how and why Harmony was placed in her father’s care despite his alleged criminal history and otherwise questionable background.
Harmony was no stranger to foster care but had been living with her mother, Crystal Sorey, until 2018 when the woman lost custody for reasons including her substance abuse. A Massachusetts judge handed custody to Adam Montgomery in February 2019.
But Adam Montgomery himself had a history of drug use, as well as prior violent arrests, including for allegedly shooting a man in the face in 2014 during an attempted drug robbery. He later pleaded guilty to lesser charges related to the shooting.
“Not to be just casting blame, but the fact that a judge would put a child in full custody with a parent was such a horrific, violent background gives the whole system pause for concern,” the governor continued. “How could that decision be made? Anybody that saw the background of her father knows that no one should ever be placed into care like that.”
Months after Adam Montgomery gained custody of Harmony in 2019, his uncle reportedly saw the girl with a black eye. Adam Montgomery allegedly told his uncle he had “bashed her around the house.”
That same uncle, Kevin Montgomery, said he had tried for years to alert authorities about Harmony’s abuse.
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker was in attendance but would not speak with Fox News Digital during the Washington, D.C. conference.
The circumstances of Harmony’s disappearance have triggered an internal review of New Hampshire’s Division for Children, Youth and Families. Massachusetts officials are also probing the decision for Harmony to be placed in her father’s care.
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“We’ve asked the court in Massachusetts to just explain what was on the table – how was that decision made? Because maybe that information can help us actually bring her home,” Sununu said.
He added: “Working with Governor Baker and his teams on that side, we are all in this together in saying we have to find a way to either bring her home – which is what everybody wants first and foremost – but most importantly, how do we fix these gaps in the system on both sides?”
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Sununu said more information regarding the New Hampshire internal review would likely be announced in the coming weeks.
Authorities are asking anyone with information regarding Harmony Montgomery’s whereabouts to call 603-203-6060.
Fox News’ Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.
