The stepmother of the missing 7-year-old Harmony Montgomery was arrested on Thursday charged with welfare fraud after collecting food stamps in the stepdaughter’s name, reports the news agency AP.
– ARRESTED FOR FRAUD: Kayla Montgomery (31) is charged with welfare fraud after she used food stamps worth more than 13,000 kroner in the name of her missing stepdaughter Harmony. Photo: NH Attorney General’s office / AP / NTB
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According to the Attorney General in New Hampshire, Kayla Montgomery (31) is said to have obtained food stamps worth 1500 dollars in Harmony’s name, over 13,000 Norwegian kroner, between December 2019 and June 2021, despite the child not living with her and her father Adam .
Harmony’s father Adam Montgomery (31) was the first to be arrested in connection with the mysterious disappearance case when he was charged on Wednesday with having used violence against his daughter in 2019, interference in parental rights and for endangering a child’s welfare.
In addition, the father is charged in the disappearance case since the daughter was not with him as she really should be.
– ACCUSED: Harmony’s father Adam Montgomery (31) has been arrested for having used violence against his daughter in 2019. He was the one who had custody of the girl when she disappeared the same year. Photo: Manchester Police Department (NH) / AP / NTB
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He has not pleaded guilty to any of the charges so far, and is in custody without the possibility of bail.
Disappeared without a trace for two years
The stepmother, who is now charged with welfare fraud, was interviewed by Manchester police as early as New Year’s Eve, the same week as the police were notified of Harmony’s disappearance. Then she told the authorities that she had not seen the stepdaughter since November or December 2019.
She is herself the mother of three of Harmony’s half-siblings, and confirmed at the time to the police that she had not seen the father of the child Adam since October 2021, and had not spoken to him since November.
Manchester police have set up a hotline in search of the missing 7-year-old, who no one has seen since October 2019 when she disappeared from her home in the city. At the time, Harmony was only 5 years old.
A bounty has also been promised to people who have information that can help Harmony be found. On Thursday, the bounty was increased from 12,500 dollars to 33,000 dollars, which corresponds to almost 294,000 Norwegian kroner.
– DISAPPEARED: Harmony’s mother (7) has not seen her daughter she was 5 years old. She was one of those who notified the police that the girl was gone. Photo: National Center for Missing & Exploited Children / Manchester Police Department (NH)
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Beat the daughter
Harmony’s biological mother called police in November to say she had not seen her daughter in a while. At the time, she explained to police that she had not seen her daughter in over six months. She later changed her explanation, saying she had not seen Harmony since Easter 2019 when she video chatted with her and her father Adam.
According to police, it was Adam who had the legal custody of Harmony when she disappeared. He is now charged with violence against his daughter.
Harmony’s great-uncle later explained to police that he saw the girl with a black eye in July 2019. At the time, Adam had explained that he hit his daughter after he saw her hold his hand over his younger brother’s mouth to prevent him from crying, according to the police documents.
The great-uncle notified the child welfare services after the incident.
Partially blind
Harmony was last seen when the police responded to a message of concern to the house she lived in with her family in Manchester on October 1, 2019.
– PARTIALLY BLIND: Harmony (pictured) is partially blind and must use pictures. Police have released photos of the girl in the hope that someone has seen her. Photo: National Center for Missing & Exploited Children / Manchester Police Department (NH)
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She is partially blind and wears glasses, has blue eyes and blond hair. According to the police, she is probably around 121 centimeters and weighs 22.7 kilograms if she is seen today.
According to police, she was registered at a school in neighboring Massachusetts around the time she disappeared. The police did not want to comment on the girl’s connection to the state.
It is also unknown why it took so long before the girl was reported missing by the family.
The investigation is ongoing.
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