The year-long investigation into the disappearance of five-year-old Harmony Montgomery escalated Friday as officials began scouring the wetlands along Route 107 for new evidence.
Montgomery was last seen alive in New Hampshire in 2019, and while authorities claim she was killed by her father Adam Montgomery, who has pleaded not guilty to her murder, her body has never been found.
Authorities began searching Friday morning along Route 107, which was “prompted by information developed by investigators,” state police spokesman David Procopio said in a statement.
Several law enforcement agencies are tasked with the renewed search, including 18 Special Emergency Response Team troopers, four K9s and their handlers, a drone and detectives assigned to Suffolk District Attorney Kevin R. Hayden’s office, Procopio added.
Five-year-old Harmony Montgomery mysteriously went missing in 2019 and her body has never been found
Her father Adam Montgomery, 33, of Manchester, New Hampshire, was charged with second-degree murder, abuse of a corpse, falsification of evidence and witness tampering over the disappearance
In January, the girl’s father, Adam, was charged with murder over her disappearance. He is also charged with abuse of a corpse, falsifying evidence and witness tampering.
The 33-year-old career criminal, who has a criminal record dating back to 2007, is accused of murdering Harmony by repeatedly hitting her on the head with a closed fist in early December 2019.
Her body has never been found since her disappearance three years ago, after she was last seen alive by her mother Crystal Sorey in 2019.
However, the police did not begin investigating the alleged murder until September 2021 after Harmony was reported missing.
And in August 2022, authorities said she was murdered in December 2019, after new “biological” evidence was cited in her case.
According to the Boston sphereAdam Montgomery has close ties to Revere, which is the focus of the investigation.
Harmony, then five, was reportedly killed by her father, as authorities say he repeatedly hit her on the head with a closed fist in early December 2019
The renewed search for evidence was announced by the office of New Hampshire Attorney General John M. Formella.
The prosecutor, who led the investigation into her murder, said in a statement: “Due to the ongoing investigation, no additional information will be released at this time.
“Officials warn against any speculation regarding the possible results of this search.”
Formella has previously stated that the focus of the investigation had shifted from finding her body to finding the person responsible for her murder.
Harmony was born in Massachusetts in 2014. Her parents were unmarried, were no longer together and had a history of substance use, according to a report this year from the Massachusetts Office of the Child Advocate. Adam Montgomery was in prison when she was born.
She was blind in one eye and had behavior problems, and entered custody of Massachusetts Child Protective Services when she was 2 months old. She was moved several times between her mother’s and her foster parents’ homes, the report said, causing “significant trauma and damage.”
Adam Montgomery was awarded custody of Harmony in February 2019.
Harmony’s case sparked vigils and the creation of social media sites. Police offered monetary rewards for information and dedicated a 24-hour tip line to the case.
“I ask that in memory of Harmony that we all do our best to do something nice for a child today,” Manchester Police Chief Allen Aldenberg said at the press conference. He added, “Just take a moment to say something nice to a child, give him or her a hug, a few special words of encouragement.”
Last June, investigators saw evidence, including a refrigerator, removed from the apartment in Manchester, New Hampshire, where Harmony had lived with her father and stepmother before her disappearance.
Harmony’s stepmother Kayla (pictured) was also arrested in January 2022 after she allegedly lied about Harmony’s disappearance
Harmony’s stepmother Kayla Montgomery was also arrested in January 2022 after allegedly lying to investigators about the child’s disappearance.
In addition to telling the Department of Health and Human Services that Harmony was in her care, she is also facing charges of wire fraud for allegedly collecting $1,500 in food stamps in the child’s name over a year after her disappearance.
Last year, according to court documents, Kayla agreed to cooperate with the New Hampshire Police Department. She is currently incarcerated and will not be released until 2029.
In February 2019, a Massachusetts judge had placed the little girl in Montgomery’s care despite pleading guilty to shooting a man in the head during a drug deal five years earlier.
The father was not required to undergo a suitability assessment to gain access to his daughter, as the judge rejected it, despite the state’s attorney objecting.
In the years since that decision, family members accused Montgomery of abusing Harmony, leading aid workers to visit the Manchester apartment multiple times in 2019, 2020 and 2021 – several times after the girl was last seen.
Montgomery’s uncle, Kevin, recounted incidents including spanking, forcing the then-five-year-old to scrub the toilet with her toothbrush and leaving her in the corner for hours, detectives say.
In the months before she was last seen alive, there were multiple reports from people in her life to child protective services that she had bruises and red marks on her face.
Last June, investigators were seen removing evidence, including a refrigerator, from the apartment in Manchester, New Hampshire, where Harmony had lived with her father and stepmother before her disappearance.