Authorities have determined that Harmony Montgomery, a baby girl who went missing in 2019, was murdered in Manchester, New Hampshire, in early December 2019, officials said Thursday.
Harmony would be 8 years old if she lived today.
Harmony’s remains have not been found, but ‘multiple sources of investigative information, including biological evidence’, have led to the conclusion that she is dead, the New Hampshire attorney general said. , John Formella, at a press conference.
The missing persons case is now a homicide investigation, he said.
“Our investigators will continue to seek justice and examine the circumstances of Harmony’s murder and search for her remains,” Formella said.
A missing poster released by Manchester NH Police shows images of Harmony Montgomery who has been missing since October 2019.
Manchester Police Department
“I am beyond saddened,” Manchester Police Chief Allen Aldenberg said.
“There have been many discussions, speculations and questions about where the Harmony system failed, and I myself continue to share the same concerns and still have many unanswered questions,” he said. he declares. “However, the homicide of this little girl rests with the person(s) who committed this horrific act. Manchester Police Department will do everything within the limits of the law to ensure that the person(s) responsible for the murder of Harmony be brought to justice.”
Aldenberg said he believes “there are people in the community who have information about this investigation who haven’t come forward yet.
“If you are that person, I implore you to do it now and come forward,” he said. “Do it for that little girl.”
Aldenberg urged anyone with information to call the hotline at 603-203-6060.
The attorney general and police chief did not respond to questions from the media at Thursday’s press conference. No suspects have been named.
Harmony’s mother, Crystal Sorey, had custody of her until 2018, according to a status report published in February. In 2019, a Massachusetts court ordered Harmony to be sent to live with her father, Adam Montgomery, in New Hampshire, state officials said.
Harmony’s last confirmed home was in Manchester with her father, stepmother Kayla Montgomery and two half-siblings, according to state officials.
Sorey said the last time she saw Harmony was via FaceTime in the spring of 2019, officials said.
In July 2019, an anonymous call was made to the New Hampshire Division of Children, Youth and Families alleging that during a visit a week earlier he or she saw Harmony “having a black eye that ‘Adam Montgomery admitted causing,’ according to the report. On the same day as the anonymous call, a social worker turned up and did not see a black eye on Harmony, according to the report.
A week later, that same social worker noted a red mark and disappearing bruises under Harmony’s eyelid, and Harmony and Adam Montgomery told the worker that the mark had just been hit by a toy while playing, according to the report.
On subsequent visits to the home, “the children appeared happy and healthy,” the report said. When last visited in October 2019, social workers found the abuse allegations unsubstantiated, but added that “the situation has been rated as high risk for future child protection involvement in accordance with the ‘risk assessment tool citing history of substance use, family history with child protection and economic challenges’, according to the report.
In January 2020, Adam Montgomery told the child protective services worker that Harmony had been living in Massachusetts with his mother since Thanksgiving 2019, according to the report. The worker left a voicemail for Sorey confirming that Harmony lived there, but never heard back, according to the report.
In September 2021, a relative of Harmony’s mother contacted the Children, Youth and Families Division with concerns, and the agency determined that Harmony had never been enrolled in school in Manchester. , according to the report.
The Child, Youth and Family Division then searched for Adam and Kayla Montgomery.
When police found Adam Montgomery in December 2021, he gave authorities “conflicting and unconvincing explanations for Harmony’s whereabouts,” according to the report. Adam Montgomery allegedly told police that Harmony’s mother came to pick her up, although Kayla Montgomery told police that Adam Montgomery told her he took Harmony home to her mother the day after Thanksgiving 2019, according to The report.
At this point, the investigation became a missing child case, according to the report.
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