After the two-year anniversary of her daughter’s disappearance, the mother of Harmony Montgomery has spoken out. Crystal Sorey reached out to the media, and amidst criticism of how her daughter’s case was handled, let the public know that she believes her baby is still alive, “I don’t feel like she’s gone. I just don’t feel that in my heart…and a mother knows, a mother knows if your baby’s here or not. I know she’s here.”
The case of Harmony Montgomery faced the same issues that many missing person cases did around the time of the COVID-19 outbreak. Harmony was last seen by Manchester police when they answered a call to her home in October of 2019, according to the New Hampshire Union Leader. However, any missing person investigator will tell you that if the case is not resolved within the first week of the investigation, it’s crucial for the missing person’s face to stay in the media. The continued presence of a missing person’s face in the media raises the likelihood that someone will recognize the missing person and provide law enforcement with information they may have on their disappearance. This generates new leads, which raises the chance that the missing person will be found. However, in the case of Harmony Montgomery, just eight short weeks after her disappearance, the first news of the COVID-19 pandemic hit the media. As the virus spread, COVID-19 dominated the news cycle, and missing person cases that desperately needed the media exposure were all but forgotten by the public at large. Now two years later, Crystal Sorey is making sure the world hasn’t forgotten about her missing daughter.
Harmony Montgomery was only 5 years old when she disappeared in October 2019. Unfortunately, it had been months since Forey had seen Harmony, reportedly because the girl’s father, Adam Montgomery, had blocked all contact between Harmony and her mother, according to NBC. Last week, Adam Montgomery was arrested by authorities and formally charged with felony second-degree assault “connected to conduct against Harmony” back in 2019. The New Hampshire Police followed up to say that he may also face charges of interference with custody, and two charges of endangering the welfare of a child. Harmony’s stepmother, Kayla Montgomery, was also arrested because she fraudulently received food stamp benefits for Harmony even after her disappearance. According to police, between December 2019 and June 2021, Kayla Montgomery received $1,500 in benefits for the missing girl, even though she had not lived with her or Adam.
Despite the flurry of arrests that have taken place over the course of the investigation into Harmony Montgomery’s disappearance, little progress has actually been made in finding the now 7-year-old girl. Last Saturday, the house where Harmony Montgomery was last seen was formally searched by law enforcement, despite the fact that there are now new occupants who are not related to the case. Police have established a tip line dedicated to Harmony’s case and have offered a cash reward for information leading to Harmony’s location in the sum of $94,000.