Missing Harmony Montgomery's father arrested in New Hampshire
Nancy Grace argues the system 'failed' in protecting 7-year-old Harmony Montgomery who was last seen in 2019 but recently reported missing by the state.
The uncle of the New Hampshire man arrested in connection with the disappearance of his daughter Harmony Montgomery said he tried to report incidents of child abuse to authorities for years, but they never acted.
Kevin Montgomery, the uncle, told Fox News Digital on Monday that authorities only acted in December 2021, when Crystal Sorey, the mother of the missing girl, urged police to open a missing person investigation.
New Hampshire's Division for Children, Youth and Families has declined Fox News Digital's requests for comment on the case, citing its privacy policy.
Adam Montgomery, the father of the missing girl, is being held without bail on child abuse and other charges in connection with her disappearance and for allegedly giving her a black eye in July 2019.
The girl's disappearance is not her 31-year-old father's first brush with the law.
Newly obtained records show that in 2014 he was accused of shooting a man in the face while trying to rob him for three grams of heroin in Haverhill, Massachusetts. Fox News obtained records from the Haverhill Police Department pursuant to a public records request. The scene was chaotic and the alleged victim wrestled the gun away and shot him back, police documents show.
Montgomery later pleaded guilty to lesser charges and received an 18-month sentence, according to the Essex County District Attorney's Office.
MISSING HARMONY MONTGOMERY: TIMELINE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE GIRL'S DISAPPEARANCE
Harmony was 4 months old at the time.
Now 7, she hasn't been seen in nearly two years, according to police in Manchester, New Hampshire. They kicked off a large-scale search-and-rescue effort after her noncustodial biological mother, Sorey, came to them demanding answers in mid-November.
Left: Adam Montgomery, who police arrested this week on child abuse and endangerment charges in connection with an alleged assault on his daughter from 2019 and her disappearance. Right: Missing Harmony Montgomery (Manchester Police)
The 2014 shooting may offer a glimpse into Montgomery's rocky past.
The shooting occurred on Jan. 24, outside the victim's apartment, according to an application for a criminal complaint. Montgomery was there to buy three grams of heroin, but instead "pointed a gun at the victim’s head to rob the victim of the heroin," the document claimed.
"The victim swatted the gun away and the defendant fired the gun and shot the victim in the face," the record continues. The other person, whose identity is being withheld by Fox News, survived the shooting.
A surveillance camera captured audio and video of the shooting, which was alleged to have involved multiple people, including Harmony’s mother and her uncle, Jason Sorey. The video showed a white Volvo pulling up to the area around 6:08 p.m. local time, according to a preliminary police report.
MISSING HARMONY MONTGOMERY: DEADBEAT DAD'S MOTHER-IN-LAW SOUGHT RESTRAINING ORDER OVER SUMMER
Less than two minutes later, "a faint ‘pop’ is heard" out of the camera’s view. Then a man can be heard screaming, "Jay, help, Jay!" the report states. Several voices can be heard in the video, according to the report, including one that says, "He shot me in my f------ face," and another that says, "Yo get the f--- outa here, the cops are comin'."
A second gunshot can then be heard.
Two men appear in the camera’s view around 6:12 p.m. One of the men, who reportedly matches the victim’s description, can be heard saying, "That was his gun, you f----- piece of s---, you f----- shot me in my face."
He can then be seen "kicking and punching a man on the ground," who was later identified as Montgomery, the report continues. A third man comes into the camera’s view and the pair continue to pummel Montgomery, kicking and punching him, before they flee.
The brawl involved at least four men, including the victim, Montgomery and two others, documents said. After the initial shooting, the alleged victim and a friend drove Montgomery to the floor and pulled his shirt over his head, revealing a "BOSTON" tattoo on his back, before disarming him and taking the gun.
Once the dust clears, a different man appears to walk Montgomery toward the Volvo. Montgomery falls twice before making it to the vehicle and "appears to be severely injured," the report states. The Volvo then leaves the area.
The report describes how responding officers found a revolver located "approximately 20 feet to the right of the entrance" to the victim’s home. Two rounds had been fired.
Police said they received several tips identifying someone named "Ace" – later revealed to be Montgomery – as the man who shot the victim in the face. Another tipster revealed that Montgomery was shot in the arm during the scuffle, but refused to go to the hospital, and that he was with his then-girlfriend, Sorey, the preliminary report states.
Police found Sorey on Jan. 25, 2014, "hiding in an abandoned shed at the rear" of a home in Methuen, Massachusetts, an unheated space amid plummeting temperatures.
Police arrested Montgomery three days later, on Jan. 28, at his grandmother’s home in Manchester. They arrested him on an unrelated probation violation before tacking on additional charges.
Montgomery initially told police he went to that area on the date of the shooting to "buy dope," and said he did not know the dealer, a Haverhill police report states. He allegedly said he got a ride to the Haverhill home and planned to spend "280 on the heroin."
Anyone with information about Harmony Montgomery is asked to call the 24/7 tip line at 603-203-6060 (Manchester Police Department)
He said there were four or five people in the hallway when he arrived and the group tried to steal his money. He added that he did not remember all of what happened but recalled "being hit and kicked," the report states.
He allegedly didn’t realize he had been shot until "several hours" later.
But the alleged victim recalled the events differently.
MISSING HARMONY MONTGOMERY: HOW COULD A 7-YEAR-OLD GIRL FALL THROUGH THE CRACKS?
Harmony, now 7, was reported missing last month after last being seen two years ago. (Manchester Police)
"He stated that Montgomery tried to rob him," the report states. "He stated that he gave Montgomery 3 grams of heroin … Montgomery tried to take the drugs from him and pulled out a gun … he struggled with Montgomery in the hallway, and the gun went off. "
The alleged victim added: "I went to grab it, and it went off." He then allegedly got the gun from Montgomery and shot him.
In late February 2019, Montgomery obtained sole custody of Harmony. She was 5 years old at the time.
Police publicly declared her missing two weeks ago – but said during their investigation that she has been unaccounted for since around Thanksgiving Day in 2019.
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Police spent the past two weekends searching a home in Manchester where Harmony once lived with her father, stepmom and three half-siblings, but they packed up Monday afternoon without announcing any findings.
Harmony is about 4 feet tall and 50 pounds. She has blond hair and blue eyes and should be wearing glasses. She’s also blind in her right eye.
Manchester Police have set up a dedicated tip line, manned 24 hours a day by detectives, at 603-203-6060. Anyone with information is urged to call.
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