Governor Requests Mass. Judge Provide Docs On Missing NH Girl

CONCORD, NH — New Hampshire’s governor is requesting documents and evidentiary information from a Massachusetts supreme court judge in an effort to find out how custody of a missing girl could have been awarded to her father, a felon with a dangerous criminal history, in both states.

Gov. Chris Sununu, in the letter to Chief Justice Kimberly Budd of the Mass. Supreme Judicial Court, said many people are attempting to find Harmony Montgomery, 7, who has not been seen since October 2019. During the course of the investigation, officials in New Hampshire learned that Adam Montgomery, the girl’s father, was given custody of her by a Massachusetts judge while working with the Mass. Department of Children and Families. It was stunning, Sununu said on Tuesday, how Adam Montgomery, “a monstrous drug dealer with previous convictions including shooting someone in the head and a separate armed attack on two women in Massachusetts” would be given custody of Harmony Montgomery.

“This family was troubled, transient, and originally engaged with the Massachusetts child protection system,” Sununu said. “Only as an unfortunate result of Harmony’s disappearance has New Hampshire come to learn the full extent of the family’s background and the type of upbringing Harmony faces prior to arriving in New Hampshire.”

Sununu said officials discovered that MA DCF requested New Hampshire DCYF in December 2018 to conduct a home study of Adam and Kayla Montgomery, as part of the two states’ interstate compact for the placement of children. New Hampshire officials responded saying they needed “additional information” about their engagement of services in Massachusetts — a standard request between the state, Sununu said. While waiting for a response, a judge in Lawrence, MA, “abruptly gave sole custody of Harmony to her father in February 2019,” he said.

Sununu said there were many unanswered questions about the decision which needed to be answered including why the interstate compact process was bypassed, why the decision was made so quickly, and how someone like Adam Montgomery could even be allowed to have the child, given his criminal history. He requested Budd assist New Hampshire in finding out how and why this happened.

“As a result of your judge’s decision,” Sununu said, “New Hampshire officials were not afforded the ability to monitor Harmony’s safety. As neighboring states, we owe it to our residents, especially our vulnerable children, that we are working together to protect the best interests of our most vulnerable citizens.”

Sununu formally requested Budd to provide information, evidence, and all events leading up to the judge’s decision. New Hampshire, too, was undergoing “an aggressive review” of its system to find out how these systems failed to ensure this child was safe, he said.

Sununu said finding Harmony Montgomery was a “top priority” for law enforcement officials.

Police in Manchester were made aware that the girl was missing in December 2021, after her birth mother, Crystal Sorey, told police she had been unable to get in touch with the girl for more than two years.

During the course of the investigation, police learned there was an assault accusation made by family members against her father and he was arrested.

State officials, also investigating the family, filed charges against the girl’s stepmother, Kayla Montgomery, at first, for welfare fraud, although those charges were revised to include felony theft and other charges.

At least one residence where the family lived, in the West Side of New Hampshire’s largest city, has been extensively searched twice for evidence connected to the case.

The reward for information that leads to the whereabouts of Harmony Montgomery has risen to almost $150,000.

Anyone with information about Harmony Montgomery is asked to call the Manchester Police Department's dedicated tip line at 603-203-6060, 24-hours a day, seven days a week.

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