NH Escapee Back In Jail After 2 Years On The Run

CONCORD, NH — An escapee from a transitional housing unit is back in state custody after nearly two years on the lam, according to court documents. Tara Lee Monsante, 40, of Canaan, was returned to the New Hampshire Correctional Facility for Women in Goffstown on June 5, 2017, after being put on escape status back in 2015. According to the Valley News, Monsante was arrested on May 24, when she allegedly attempted to use a stolen driver’s license to withdraw money from a bank in Windsor, VT.

Editor’s Note: This post was derived from information supplied by the New Hampshire State Police and the Concord District Court. It does not indicate a conviction. This link explains the name removal request process for NH Patch police reports.

At the time of her arrest, she was allegedly hiding out in South Royalton, VT, and using the alias “Amy Gorman.” Court affidavits stated that she was working for a cleaning company as a temp and allegedly stole cash and as well as checks from customers. She is also accused of stealing the driver’s license in an effort to gain access to another woman’s bank account.

The Vermont investigation started in mid-April after a woman reported a missing check that was cashed in Connecticut. The check, according to the report, was made out to another woman. When police contacted that woman, she reportedly discovered more than $4,400 worth of suspicious activity on her account, all from banks in Connecticut near where Monsante's boyfriend reportedly lives.

Monsante, according to court documents, signed out of the Shea Farm Transitional Housing Unit on Iron Works Road in Concord at just after 8 a.m. on June 24, 2015, to go work at Dunkin’ Donuts on South Main Street. However, she was not scheduled to work that day and allegedly never returned to Shea at 7 p.m. when she was scheduled to. She was placed on escape status at around 7:30 p.m. and an arrest warrant was issued.

Monsante, at the time, was serving a two to four year sentence out of the Grafton County Superior Court for fraudulent use of credit cards. She had begun serving the sentence six months before she allegedly failed to return to Shea and would have been eligible for parole in May 2016. Jeffrey Lyons, a spokesman for the NH DOC, stated that her maximum release date has now been extended to October 2020, due to the two years she was missing.