The mother of Harmony Montgomery, the 7-year-old New Hampshire girl last seen in 2019 and reported missing late last year, told WFXT that she believes her daughter is still alive.
“I don’t think she’s dead,” Crystal Sorey told the news station. “I don’t care what anyone says to me … I don’t think my daughter is dead. I think she is out there, and people are too afraid to come forward.”
Officials in New Hampshire said they believe Harmony disappeared between Nov. 28 and Dec. 10, 2019. At the time, the 5-year-old was living with her father after spending much of her earlier life between her mother’s care and the care of the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families, WFXT reported.
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Authorities charged her father, 31-year-old Adam Montgomery, with second-degree assault related to “2019 conduct against Harmony,” interference with custody and endangering the welfare of a child earlier this month. WFXT reported that the charges were not directly related to his daughter’s disappearance.
Officials have also arrested Adam Montgomery’s wife and Harmony’s stepmother, 31-year-old Kayla Montgomery, on a charge of welfare fraud after investigators alleged she had obtained $1,500 in food stamp benefits by failing to remove Harmony from her family account, despite the fact that Harmony was no longer living with her or her husband.
Sorey told WFXT that she believes Kayla Montgomery knows more about her daughter’s disappearance than she’s been letting on.
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“It just doesn’t sit right with me that this woman was in the dark the whole time and (Adam Montgomery) didn’t tell her anything,” she said. “I’ve always thought that she knows more than she’s saying.”
Authorities said Thursday that they’ve determined that Harmony was with Adam Montgomery, Kayla Montgomery and the couple’s two children on Nov. 27, 2019, when they were evicted from a home in Manchester, New Hampshire.
“Multiple individuals have reported seeing Harmony with Adam and Kayla in the following days; however, by approximately December 6-10, 2019, Adam and Kayla apparently had only their two common children, and Harmony was no longer with them,” officials with the New Hampshire Department of Justice said in a news release. Between Nov. 28 and Dec. 10, 2019 – the time during which officials believe Harmony went missing – Adam, Kayla and their children were homeless and living out of cars, authorities said, citing witnesses.
>> Related: Harmony Montgomery: 2nd arrest made connected to 2019 disappearance of 7-year-old
Harmony is described as a blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl weighing 50 pounds and standing about 4 feet tall. She is blind in one eye and should be wearing glasses, police said.
“I just hold onto hope with everything that I can, until my knuckles turn white, and pray we’re able to bring her home,” Sorey said, according to WFXT.
With help from the community, officials are offering a $144,000 reward for information leading to Harmony’s whereabouts.