Authorities in New Hampshire are searching for a visually impaired 7-year-old girl who was reported missing last week — more than two years after she was last seen.
Police saw Harmony Montgomery in October 2019 when they responded to a home in Manchester, Police Chief Allen Aldenberg told reporters, the Washington Post reported.
But they only learned early last week from the New Hampshire Division for Children, Youth and Families that she had gone missing since then under circumstances the chief called “very concerning,” the paper reported.
“I know people are going to say, ‘Well, here it is 2021, almost 2022, and nobody’s seen this young girl since late of October 2019. So what’s happened in the last two years?’ Fair question,” Aldenberg said Friday.
“That’s why I’m here today. Because we need assistance, we need help, and we don’t have many answers to many questions that we have,” he said.
“Somewhere out there this little girl is in need of help, and that’s our job, and I need your help on helping us to find her safe so the next time we meet, maybe we meet with some good news,” Aldenberg added, according to the Boston Globe.
He said investigators have spoken to several family members of the girl, who had attended a Massachusetts school, but declined to provide details due to the ongoing probe, the outlet reported.
“I’m not getting into the specifics of where she should have been or who she should have been with, other than to tell you that where she should have been and who she should have been with, she’s not with those people and she’s not at that location,” the chief told reporters.
Harmony had spent time in foster care in Massachusetts, where she looked after her younger brother, Jamison, the boy’s father, Blair Miller, told the Washington Post.
Miller, a reporter for Cox Media Group, told the paper that by the time he adopted the boy, state officials informed him that Harmony had been reunited with her dad.
Jamison’s mom, Crystal Sorey, often seemed worried about her daughter and said she could not reach the girl, Miller told the outlet.
On Monday evening, Aldenberg continued his plea for the public’s assistance in solving the mystery.
“Quite frankly, enough is enough. This 7-year-old girl — let’s find her,” he said during a news conference, Fox News reported.
Harmony — who is blind in her right eye and wears glasses — was described as 4 feet tall with blond hair and blue eyes, weighing about 50 pounds.
Despite the amount of time that has passed since Harmony was last seen, Aldenberg said she is presumed to be alive.
“I’m in rescue mode right now. This is not a recovery,” he told reporters Monday, according to the Washington Post. “All efforts are focused on that Harmony is alive, and we are going to do everything that we can to find her in that condition.”
On Sunday, meanwhile, police searched a home on Gilford Street in Manchester, where they set up a tent in the backyard and brought in a critical incident van, according to the Union Leader.
Aldenberg confirmed the search and stressed that the current homeowner is not involved in the probe and is cooperating with investigators, the Globe reported.
A woman who answered the door at the home in question told the Union Leader that she gave police permission to search the property but said she could not discuss the matter and did not want to give her name.
At the time of the search, she was not at the home, which city assessor records indicated was sold in May 2020.
On Friday, Aldenberg said no Amber Alert was issued for Harmony because investigators still don’t know whom she may be with or whether a vehicle may be involved.
“This is Manchester, New Hampshire, and this is a big city by New Hampshire standards, but it ain’t that big,” the chief said in his plea, the Globe reported.
“There’s a pretty tight-knit community at the end of the day [and] people need to do the right thing. I don’t think I’m asking a lot,” he added.
The city of Manchester is offering a reward of $2,500 and two local business executives chipped in an additional $10,000 reward for information on Harmony’s whereabouts.
A dedicated tip line — at 603-203-6060 — also was set up for people to call with any information for investigators. Tipsters can also call Manchester police at 603-668-8711 or the Manchester Crimeline at 603-624-4040.
