Authorities in New Hampshire said Wednesday that the father of missing 7-year-old Harmony Montgomery has been arrested in connection with her disappearance in 2019, which remains unsolved. Adam Montgomery, a 31 year-old from Manchester, was arrested on a warrant charging him with felony second-degree assault arising from 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. Montgomery was arraigned around noon in Hillsborough County Superior Court North Wednesday but did not appear in court after his arraignment and bail conditions were agreed to by lawyers.
According to court documents, Harmony’s mother first notified police in November that her daughter was missing, but police were unable to find Adam Montgomery, who had legal custody of the child. Last week, the state’s Division for Children, Youth and Families contacted police saying they couldn’t find the girl either. Harmony’s mother had lost custody to Adam Montgomery because of substance abuse issues, according to court documents, but upon regaining sobriety, she started looking for Harmony. After hearing from DCYF last week, Manchester police eventually found Adam Montgomery living in a car. He told police he gave Harmony to his mother around Thanksgiving 2019. However, police found his story inconsistent and Montgomery refused to cooperate.
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, and the FBI has also joined the investigation. 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. Anonymous tips can also be called in to the Manchester Crimeline (603) 624-4040. Manchester police said a reward is being offered in connection with the case, which was increased on Wednesday to $43,000.