25 Investigates: Manchester PD Chief ‘frightened’ by what Harmony Montgomery may be enduring

For 34 days, a team of detectives at the Manchester Police Department have been working around the clock searching for Harmony Montgomery, the 7-year old girl whose disappearance went unnoticed and unreported for two years.

This week marked one month since an emotional Manchester PD Chief Allen Aldenberg pleaded for the public’s help finding Harmony who was last seen in Manchester in late 2019. No one reported her missing until late 2021.

Investigative reporter and anchor Kerry Kavanaugh sat down for an exclusive interview with Chief Aldenberg about the case.

During a very emotional conversation, the chief said he’s not giving up hope of finding Harmony alive. He says he’s certain someone knows something that will completely change the course of the investigation and is pleading for them to come forward.

“If the people that don’t want to cooperate with us or don’t want to tell us things or don’t want to come forward, that’s not going to stop us,” he said.

Chief Aldenberg says his team is dedicated to bringing Harmony – who has not been seen since she was 5 years old - home

“I just need somebody to just call in with that tip,” he said. “That right person with that right tip. Just pick up the phone and do it.”

Since police announced the case on December 31st, they’ve received more than 600 tips. They very every single one, which has led them to narrow the timeline of Harmony’s disappearance. They now believe she was last seen in early December of 2019 when her family was living out of two cars – a 2010 Chrysler Sebring and a dark blue 2006 Audi S4. Both cars were in both conditions.

Chief Aldenberg says the most frustrating thing about this case is the two-year reporting delay, something he says he’s never experienced in his 25-year career.

Upon learning that Harmony had been missing for so long before anyone reported the disappearance, the chief says his “heart sank”

“You start asking many of the questions that the public was asking, and they were fair questions. I’m like, how does this happen?”

25 Investigates has been asking that same question since news of Harmony’s disappearance first broke in December.

We uncovered that she left the care of DCF in Massachusetts when a court granted custody to her father, Adam Montgomery, a man with a violent criminal history. We also found that police were called to the Manchester home where Harmony’s family lives a total of 14 times during a five-month period before her disappearance. Police reports show Manchester PD called New Hampshire’s Division of Children, Youth, and Families expressing concern for the children living there.

“If mistakes were made, you know, then you have to have honest discussions about those. And if that lands at my door, then I’ll address it and I’ll be open about it. But if I’m going to be open then everybody else that was involved in this needs to be as open as well,” said Aldenberg.

The chief is confident his team handled their interactions with Harmony appropriately. Right now, he says, he wants his team to remain focused on finding her.

Harmony’s father and stepmother, Adam and Kayla Montgomery face charges in connection to the investigation. But no one has been charged with her disappearance.

Aldenberg says he’s hopeful Harmony is still alive but admits the thought of what she may have endured in the last two years scares him.

“That’s even more frightening. Who is she with? Who is taking care of her needs?,” said an emotional Aldenberg. “Somebody out there knows something and that’s what’s frustrating.”

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