Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Harmony Montgomery: Girlfriend of missing girl’s father is found dead

The little girl disappeared sometime in 2019, but police were not alerted until two years later

Graig Graziosi
Thursday 24 March 2022 20:14 GMT
Related video: Harmony Montgomery’s mother speaks out at candlelight vigil for missing seven-year-old

The former girlfriend of Adam Montgomery – whose 7 year-old daughter Harmony Montgomery went missing in 2019 – has been found dead in Manchester, New Hampshire.

Police confirmed on Wednesday that Kelsey Small, 27, died in the city, though her cause of death is still pending. Authorities are not treating her death as suspicious.

She lived with Mr Montgomery in a car, according to NBC Boston. A police affidavit claims officers found them residing in their vehicle on 31 December, 2021, in Manchester – the day Mr Montgomery was arrested in connection with his daughter's disappearance.

Ms Small was not charged in the disappearance of Harmony. She said she was aware of Mr Montgomery’s children from previous relationships but said they never spoke about Harmony. Police pressed her for information on the girl, but Ms Small said she had no idea where Harmony might be.

He was charged with felony second-degree assault stemming from a 2019 incident involving Harmony. He also faced a misdemeanour charge for interfering with custody and two other misdemeanour charges for endangering the welfare of a child.

Manchester Police Public Information Officer Heather Hamel holds two reward posters, Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2022, in Manchester, NH
Manchester Police Public Information Officer Heather Hamel holds two reward posters, Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2022, in Manchester, NH (AP)

Police have continued to search for Harmony, who is believed to have disappeared sometime between 28 November and 10 December of 2019. They only became aware of the fact that she was missing two years after her disappearance.

This undated booking photo provided by the Manchester Police Department shows Adam Montgomery, of Manchester, NH
This undated booking photo provided by the Manchester Police Department shows Adam Montgomery, of Manchester, NH (AP)

Mr Montgomery was not the only one to face jail time for his involvement with Harmony. Her stepmother, Kayla Montgomery, pleaded not guilty last year to lying about Harmony's location. She claimed that Harmony was living with her to allow her to claim food stamp benefits, even though Harmony had disappeared by that point. Both she and Mr Montgomery are in jail.

The situation came to a head in September when an individual claiming to be a close friend of Harmony's mother, Crystal Sorey, told law enforcement that the woman hadn't seen her daughter since 2019. She also had not been able to contact Mr Montgomery, which further worried her.

Police followed up and discovered that Harmony had not been registered for any kind of schooling.

Mr Montgomery was granted custody of Harmony while her mother was participating in a drug rehabilitation program. During her program Ms Sorey had little access to the outside world, including her daughter.

Harmony remains missing. A reward for information leading to her location sits at approximately $144,000.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in