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The years-long investigation into the disappearance of five-year-old Harmony Montgomery escalated Friday as officials began scouring wetlands along Route 107 for new leads.
Montgomery was last seen alive in New Hampshire in 2019, and although authorities claim she was murdered by her father Adam Montgomery, who pleaded not guilty to her murder, her body was never found.
State police spokesman David Procopio said in a statement that authorities began searching along Route 107 on Friday morning, prompted by information investigators developed.
Several law enforcement agencies have been assigned to the renewed search, including 18 SERT troopers, four K9s and their handlers, a drone, and investigators assigned to Suffolk District Attorney Kevin R. Hayden’s office, Procopio added.
Five-year-old Harmony Montgomery disappeared under mysterious circumstances in 2019, and her body was never found.
Her father, Adam Montgomery, 33, of Manchester, New Hampshire, has been charged with second-degree murder, misuse of a corpse, falsifying evidence, and tampering with witnesses to a disappearance.
In January, the girl’s father, Adam, was indicted for murder over her disappearance. He also faces charges of misusing a corpse, falsifying evidence and tampering with witnesses.
The 33-year-old criminal, who has a rap sheet dating back to 2007, was accused of killing Harmony by hitting her on the head with a closed fist repeatedly in early December 2019.
Her body has not been found since she disappeared three years ago, after she was last seen alive by her mother, Krystal Suri, in 2019.
However, it was not until September 2021 that police began investigating the alleged murder after Harmony was reported missing.
In August 2022, authorities said she was murdered in December 2019, after citing new ‘biological’ evidence in her case.
According to the Boston GlobeHowever, Adam Montgomery has deep ties to Revere, as the investigation is refocused.
Harmony, aged five, was allegedly killed by her father, with authorities saying he repeatedly hit her with a closed fist in early December 2019.
And the office of New Hampshire Attorney General John M. Formilla announced a renewed search for evidence.
The public prosecutor, who is leading 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 about the possible results of this research.
Formella previously reported 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 single, no longer together and had a history of substance abuse, according to a report released this year by the Massachusetts Children’s Advocate’s Office. Adam Montgomery was in prison when she was born.
Blind in one eye and having behavioral needs, she went into child protective services in Massachusetts when she was two months old. The report said she was moved between the homes of her mother and adoptive parents several times, causing “great trauma and harm”.
Adam Montgomery was awarded custody of Harmony in February 2019.
Harmony’s case led to vigils and the creation of social networking sites. Police offered cash rewards for information and assigned a 24-hour tip line to the case.
“I ask that on Remembrance of Harmony we all do our best to do something nice for today’s child,” Manchester Police Chief Constable Allen Aldenburgh told the news conference. He added, “Just take a few minutes out of your day to say something sweet to a child, give them a hug, and some special words of encouragement.”
In June of last year, investigators were seen removing evidence, including a refrigerator, from the Manchester, New Hampshire apartment where Harmony 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 she allegedly lied to investigators about the child’s disappearance.
Besides telling the state Department of Health and Human Services that Harmony was in her care, she also faces wire fraud charges for collecting $1,500 worth of food stamps in the child’s name for a year after her disappearance.
According to court records, Kayla agreed to cooperate with New Hampshire law enforcement last year. She is currently imprisoned and will not be released until 2029.
In February 2019, a Massachusetts judge placed the young girl in Montgomery’s care, despite pleading guilty five years earlier to shooting a man in the head during a drug deal.
The father did not have to undergo an assessment of suitability to reach his daughter as the judge set aside the order, although the state’s attorney objected to this.
In the years since that decision, relatives have accused Montgomery of abusing Harmony, causing case workers to visit the Manchester flat several times in 2019, 2020 and 2021 – many of them coming after the girl was last seen.
Investigators said Montgomery’s uncle, Kevin, recounted incidents including spanking, a five-year-old being forced to flush a toilet with her toothbrush, and being left standing in a corner for hours.
In the months before she was last seen alive, there were multiple reports from people in her life to Children’s Services of her having bruises and red marks on her face.
In June of last year, investigators were seen removing evidence, including a refrigerator, from the Manchester, New Hampshire apartment where Harmony lived with her father and stepmother before her disappearance.
Cops search New Hampshire wetlands for five-year-old Harmony Montgomery, who disappeared in 2019