Police, FBI investigate former home of Adam and Kayla Montgomery as search for Harmony continues
Jun. 14—Manchester police and the FBI converged on a three-story apartment building on Tuesday, the latest effort in their so-far fruitless search for Harmony Montgomery, who disappeared in 2019.
Throughout the day, the street in front of 644 Union St. was a hive of activity. Uniformed police officers manned barricades that sealed off the block while evidence technicians clad in protective suits came and went from the building.
Two critical-incident vehicles were on hand, as were two trucks with draped sides which police use to hide evidence and activity from curious onlookers.
In the late morning, the FBI unwrapped and unloaded a refrigerator from a delivery truck.
Shortly before 2 p.m., detectives wrapped another refrigerator, which appeared to be from the apartment, with black sealing material, affixed biohazard stickers and loaded it into a delivery truck.
They also loaded wrapped pieces of what appeared to be building materials.
In the afternoon, a public works crew opened a manhole cover and snaked an insulated wire down the hole.
At 4:30 p.m., Attorney General John Formella issued an news release on the investigation.
"In order to protect the integrity of the ongoing investigation, officials will not be disclosing what items are being sought and what, if any, evidence is located."
Officials also cautioned against any speculation related to items being removed from the building.
The release said investigators were likely to work into the evening.
Police Chief Allen Aldenberg, the FBI, and Jesse O'Neill, the assistant attorney general overseeing the investigation of Harmony's disappearance, were at the location, a two-entrance apartment building near the corner of Orange Street. A poster urging people to help find Harmony was taped to the front door.
Evidence technicians were concentrating their activity on a second-floor apartment on the north end of the building.
Manchester resident Jennifer McCauley tied five heart-shaped helium balloons to a stop sign and placed a stuffed animal, candle and blonde-haired doll beneath them.
"I can't even imagine the pain," said McCauley, a single mother of three. "They may have found Harmony, but that's not going to end the pain."
She said she's not sure they have found Harmony, but "no one's going to bring in this stuff and a refrigerator if they haven't."
Adam Montgomery, Harmony's father, and his now estranged wife, Kayla Montgomery, previously lived in the building, but officials gave no indication when the family lived there.
Sabrina Martis lives in an apartment house on Orange Street around the corner from 644 Union.
She said Adam Montgomery and their two children lived in the neighborhood from December 2019 to October 2020, when they were evicted. Harmony was last seen in late 2019.
"We never saw Harmony ever, even when they moved in," Martis said.
Searching for months
The scene on Union Street resembled a similar search in January at a house on Gilford Street on the West Side, where the Montgomery family lived the summer before Harmony went missing.
Trucks and vehicles filled the street in front of the home, and evidence technicians were at work for days. Nothing came of the search, however.
Law enforcement agencies have been searching for Harmony since the end of last year, when her mother complained to authorities about her disappearance.
Authorities have said they can trace her last known whereabouts to November or December 2019. She was 5 at the time of her disappearance and living with her father, stepmother and two step-siblings.
Her eighth birthday was last week.
In January, Adam Montgomery, was charged with assault for allegedly giving Harmony a black eye in 2019. He had been granted custody of Harmony by a Massachusetts court, according to an affidavit in the case, as Harmony's mother had struggled with a substance-abuse disorder.
Kayla Montgomery, Harmony's stepmother, was charged with fraud for collecting food stamps in Harmony's name until June 2021. She also faces perjury charges in connection to statements she made to the grand jury.
Law enforcement is still requesting the public's assistance to locate Harmony. Call or text the 24-hour tip line at 603-203-6060.
