Harmony Montgomery appears in a photo released by the Manchester, NH Police Department.
Police are conducting a search of wetlands in Revere, Mass., as part of the investigation into the death of Harmony Montgomery, a 5-year-old girl from New Hampshire, officials said Friday.
The Massachusetts State Police is handling the search with assistance from law enforcement officials based in Manchester, New Hampshire.
“This search is being conducted as part of the investigation into the murder of then five-year-old Harmony Montgomery in December 2019,” the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office said in a statement. “Due to the ongoing investigation, no further information will be released at this time. Officials caution against speculation related to potential results of this research.
“The search for Harmony continues and law enforcement continues to ask for the public’s assistance in locating her remains,” the statement added.
Bay State Police shared some additional details with Boston-based NBC affiliate WBTS.
The specific area being sought is along Highway 107 in Revere. The search began just after 9 a.m. EST and was “prompted by information developed by investigators,” according to MSP. The location is about an hour southeast of Harmony’s home in Manchester.
The search is being carried out by around two dozen officers, including state police troopers, state police K9 teams, the state police drone unit and Manchester police, a reported WBTS.
Manchester-based ABC affiliate WMUR reporter Tim Callery offered some updates on the search early Friday afternoon:
Officials say information developed by investigators led them to this area. The research is conducted by the @MassStatePolice Special Emergency Response Team. He is trained in search operations in difficult terrain and environments.
— Tim Callery (@TimCalWMUR) April 7, 2023
A closer look at the scene where investigators are conducting a search in connection with the murder of #HarmonyMontgomery. https://t.co/fPylDnh3eg
— Tim Callery (@TimCalWMUR) April 7, 2023
By late Friday afternoon, however, law enforcement had released no additional information. A spokesperson for the Massachusetts Attorney General’s office initially said it was only able to share the previous press release at the request of Law&Crime.
New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella later said law enforcement would not search an area without a reason to do so, WMUR reported for the first time and Law&Crime confirmed.
Harmony Montgomery disappeared in late November or early December 2019. She was not reported missing until November 2021. The girl’s mother, Crystal Sorey, who suffered from substance abuse issues, believed she was living with her father the whole time.
Police believe Harmony Montgomery was killed in December 2019 and her body was concealed on March 4, 2020.
In August 2022, after nearly eight months of investigation by various state, county, and federal law enforcement agencies, Harmony Montgomery was pronounced dead based on numerous leads, including biological evidence. In October 2022, her father, Adam Montgomery, was charged with one count of second-degree murder for recklessly causing her death “by repeatedly striking Harmony in the head with a clenched fist,” Formella told the ‘era. The girl’s father was also charged with tampering with physical evidence and abusing a corpse. He has pleaded not guilty to charges relating to his daughter’s death.
A formal indictment on charges related to the death of the still missing girl was filed in January. Adam Montgomery has also been charged with witness tampering for allegedly coercing his estranged wife, Kayla Montgomery, to lie to a grand jury about the circumstances surrounding her stepdaughter’s death.
Kayla Montgomery has been charged with two counts of perjury for these alleged lies. She initially pleaded not guilty, but later accepted a plea deal, admitting legal guilt and agreeing to testify against her ex-husband. She is expected to formally confess in May and will serve consecutive sentences of 3½ years and seven years in prison on each count. Five years of her sentence will be suspended for her cooperation against her husband and his confession. Additionally, prosecutors dropped charges that she lied about still having the girl in her care for several months in order to continue receiving additional child support, as well as charges that she was given weapons. to fire robberies from her husband.
Late last month, Adam Montgomery was charged with gun crimes allegedly unrelated to the Harmony Montgomery case.
More Law&Crime coverage: Father of dead 6-year-old girl Harmony Montgomery charged with new firearms charges in New Hampshire
In June 2022, New Hampshire and federal authorities also searched the father’s former residence on Union Street in Manchester in connection with the case.
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