Deceased/Not Found NH - Harmony Montgomery, 7, Manchester, Oct 2019 *reported missing Dec 2021* *REWARD* *Arrest* #2

[MimosaMornings]

This is where i feel it gets a bit unbelievable, they had known each other and their families for a long time same contacts etc.
It seems really hard for me to believe that she couldn't find him/them. This is what really sets off my bs-ometer at least a bit on CS. I don't think she had anything to do with it. But I can't believe she tried that hard, and if she was using up til recently, i am not sure what effects that has on her perception/ honesty. Imho.

But she wasn’t the only one, there was the great uncle and the great grandmother?

 

[montanasleuth]

Here in my State (and in most States), past criminal history is not a factor unless it involves a conviction related to children, such as child abuse.

It's a seriously messed up system and I'm glad it is opening people's eyes. You just can't imagine how messed up it is unless you see it for yourself. I quit doing foster care once I saw how flawed it is. Bio parents rights always trump a childs safety.

It's true where I live as well. Kinship placements in some states are the end of CPS involvement.

 

[Sachi]

It was a serious process to adopt a German ShepherdD from a rescue dedicated to the breed-
it included 2 home visits,
interviewing all family members and
observing each with the dog,
where he was going to sleep,
how long would the dog be left alone in the house on any given time during the week,
the fenced in yard was inspected,
vet to be used -recorded,
what type of food he was going to be fed discussed.
And then return for a SECOND long observation/ interview- this dog found on the side of a highway!
I AM NOT KIDDING, also for a dog who needed thousands of dollars of training and got it, lives in a fancy house, in a fancy town with an entire family showering him with love.

Harmony was handed over to her LONG HISTORY OF criminal, violent, drug addicted biological father without any post adoption check ups- ZERO, no one checked to find out who her doctor would be, where she would go to school and how she was adjusting

Beautiful Harmony got handed over to evil, a punching bag for her evil sperm donor, lived on the edge with 2 drug addict so called "parents" , -squatting in a house that generated 19 calls to the authorities from June to Sept IIRC, then she disappeared.

this is not right.

 

[Psychic Sleuth]

It was a serious process to adopt a German ShepherdD from a rescue dedicated to the breed-
it included 2 home visits,
interviewing all family members and
observing each with the dog,
where he was going to sleep,
how long would the dog be left alone in the house on any given time during the week,
the fenced in yard was inspected,
vet to be used -recorded,
what type of food he was going to be fed discussed.
And then return for a SECOND long observation/ interview- this dog found on the side of a highway!
I AM NOT KIDDING, also for a dog who needed thousands of dollars of training and got it, lives in a fancy house, in a fancy town with an entire family showering him with love.

Harmony was handed over to her ******* LONG HISTORY OF criminal, violent, drug addicted biological father without any post adoption check ups- ZERO, no one checked to find out who her doctor would be, where she would go to school and how she was adjusting

Beautiful Harmony got handed over to evil, a punching bag for her evil sperm donor, lived on the edge with 2 drug addict so called "parents" , -squatting in a house that generated 19 calls to the authorities from June to Sept IIRC, then she disappeared.

this is not right.

That's our child welfare systems. This is not something that is rare. Go read Oakley Carlson's story.

Often times (here) they will monitor the child with monthly visits for about 6 months then its case closed.

ETA: and here they just made it a law that parents can refuse drug testing and other services and that cannot be held against them.

 

[Lulu'smom]

I've been struggling to understand the particular sequence here. IMO, there's no way AM was investigated at all prior to custody being given.

I just did a digital Boston Globe subscription so I can follow this more closely from the MA perspective because that's my state and I'm genuinely disturbed by the actions of MA DCF based on what I have heard to date.

I recall reading about MA using some kind of exception process for the awarding of custody to AM which meant there was no background or other check into him and no ICPC in place. I'm trying to piece it together as someone who knows zilch about family law.

Boston Globe articles
1/5
"Harmony spent at least part of her earliest years in a Massachusetts shelter with her mother ...It remains unclear how Montgomery was deemed a suitable guardian for the child in the first place....He was charged in Massachusetts with armed robbery, armed assault to murder, carrying a firearm without a license, and discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a building....Juvenile court records are confidential in Massachusetts, so there is no public paper trail that would explain the reasoning used in awarding custody to Adam Montgomery."

1/6
"On Thursday, for the second straight day, Massachusetts officials offered little or no insight into the state juvenile court’s decision in February 2019 to place Harmony in the custody of her father. Montgomery has a lengthy criminal history, including a 2014 conviction for shooting a man in the face during a botched drug deal.

In an e-mail, the Department of Children and Families said it was cooperating with the investigation, but couldn’t share further details because of “federal and state privacy requirements.”

1/10
"According to Massachusetts court records and relatives, Sorey was pregnant with the child in January 2014 when Montgomery shot a man in the head during a drug deal in Haverhill.

Adam Montgomery pleaded guilty in connection with the 2014 Haverhill shooting and was given an 18-month suspended sentence to be served concurrently with an unrelated criminal case, records show.

Massachusetts officials are monitoring the case. The Massachusetts juvenile court awarded custody of Harmony to Adam Montgomery in February 2019, according to a recent statement from Maria Mossaides, director of the Office of the Child Advocate in Massachusetts."

Boston 25 News has an article with the most detail I've been able to find in regard to the procedure used in this case. 25 Investigates: ‘System failure’ allowed NH girl’s disappearance to go unreported for two years

"Investigative reporter and anchor Kerry Kavanaugh has learned that once 7-year old Harmony left Massachusetts with no ICPC in place, that effectively ended DCF’s involvement in her life and the department closed her case."

A Judge interviewed noted that it's not prohibited to award custody to someone with a criminal record: “It’s not prohibited unless that criminal record included the death of another child. As soon as [Dad] steps forward, their regulations allow them to get the ICPC started with New Hampshire,” she said about DCF guidelines about out of state placements."

"What’s unclear is whether Massachusetts DCF requested an ICPC and whether New Hampshire declined to do one. Under Massachusetts regulations, when a child is going to the custody of a biological parent an ICPC is not required. ICPC’s are usually invoked when children are placed for adoption or foster care across state lines.

But Judge Craven says sending a child in DCF care to another state without an ICPC is highly unusual.

“I don’t recall ever doing it,” she tells 25 Investigates."

The article notes the usual process which clearly was NOT followed in this case:

"The agency added, custody awards are the end result of a court process, and are determined by the court. And, they say, as a general matter, per Massachusetts DCF regulations, placement with a caregiver is contingent on a home study done by the child welfare agency in a receiving state through the ICPC process. The caregiver for the child also must pass a background records check performed in accordance with the DCF Background Records Check Policy."

From another Boston 25 article: "What’s unclear is whether DCF ever conducted a home study before Harmony was placed with her father and whether any child welfare was checking in on her once that placement was finalized...If there’s an open child protective case, which means that there’s a legal relationship between a state, a child and a family, so generally when they’re sent to another state there may be an interstate compact agreement where the receiving state would have some responsibility to check on the child. If however the child is placed with a non-offending parent, a biological parent who’s not involved in any abuse and neglect, they may not need that because the child is considered safe."

What I surmise is that MA was happy to get this case closed and end all their work associated with it by placing HM with AM as they could consider him a "non offending" parent as he was not involved in the MA DCF case and was a resident of NH.

This isn't to say NH didn't make their own errors once HM was found as part of a NH investigation. Did they ever realize she had an active case in MA? I seriously doubt it.

I've also looked at a MA document "Navigating the MCCJA, PKPA, ICPC and ICWA" https://www.mass.gov/doc/navigation...compact-on-the-placement-of-children/download

The relevant info seems to be:

"The ICPC does not apply if:  Court is giving custody to out of state parent pursuant to non-child welfare probate or family court order. ICPC Reg. No. 2 and 3 ...Child is transferred to a non-custodial parent in another state provided that there is no evidence that the parent is unfit, the court does not seek such information, and court does not retain jurisdiction over placement. ICPC Reg. No. 3

This all says to me that they failed to do even rudimentary due diligence of AM. I can conclude that as he had a serious criminal history with violent offenses in MA. It strains any credulity to believe they did a background check and found his violent criminal history was irrelevant. Instead I think they simply did no due diligence by following the technical exception requirements and willfully ignoring his background by refusing to do any investigation. I see MA DCF's inaction as the prime causal factor in this tragedy.

But I'd love for anyone more knowledgeable like Althea to weigh in on whether I'm on the right track and if this seems likely. Because if so I think some serious changes need to be made and I want to remain informed so I can contact legislators and officials to try & make sure they don't just bury their failure here. But it seems like placing HM with AM without an ICPC may have been technically compliant but grossly negligent.

Excellent post. Thank you for the background info and analysis. I concur with your "technically compliant but grossly negligent" assessment.

 

[Shamrock1]

It was a serious process to adopt a German ShepherdD from a rescue dedicated to the breed-
it included 2 home visits,
interviewing all family members and
observing each with the dog,
where he was going to sleep,
how long would the dog be left alone in the house on any given time during the week,
the fenced in yard was inspected,
vet to be used -recorded,
what type of food he was going to be fed discussed.
And then return for a SECOND long observation/ interview- this dog found on the side of a highway!
I AM NOT KIDDING, also for a dog who needed thousands of dollars of training and got it, lives in a fancy house, in a fancy town with an entire family showering him with love.

Harmony was handed over to her ******* LONG HISTORY OF criminal, violent, drug addicted biological father without any post adoption check ups- ZERO, no one checked to find out who her doctor would be, where she would go to school and how she was adjusting

Beautiful Harmony got handed over to evil, a punching bag for her evil sperm donor, lived on the edge with 2 drug addict so called "parents" , -squatting in a house that generated 19 calls to the authorities from June to Sept IIRC, then she disappeared.

this is not right.

Sperm donors have to undergo very vigorous screening and testing processes.

 

[Sachi]

Sperm donors have to undergo very vigorous screening and testing processes.

Thank you, i shouldn’t have used that, sarcastically implying that he AM is not a father figure.

 

[tigerteeth]

It was a serious process to adopt a German ShepherdD from a rescue dedicated to the breed-
it included 2 home visits,
interviewing all family members and
observing each with the dog,
where he was going to sleep,
how long would the dog be left alone in the house on any given time during the week,
the fenced in yard was inspected,
vet to be used -recorded,
what type of food he was going to be fed discussed.
And then return for a SECOND long observation/ interview- this dog found on the side of a highway!
I AM NOT KIDDING, also for a dog who needed thousands of dollars of training and got it, lives in a fancy house, in a fancy town with an entire family showering him with love.

Harmony was handed over to her ******* LONG HISTORY OF criminal, violent, drug addicted biological father without any post adoption check ups- ZERO, no one checked to find out who her doctor would be, where she would go to school and how she was adjusting

Beautiful Harmony got handed over to evil, a punching bag for her evil sperm donor, lived on the edge with 2 drug addict so called "parents" , -squatting in a house that generated 19 calls to the authorities from June to Sept IIRC, then she disappeared.

this is not right.

Those is so true, I see these requirements for adopting and fostering dogs all the time.

 

[Psychic Sleuth]

Sperm donors have to undergo very vigorous screening and testing processes.

All they do is a paternity test.

 

[samsmom]

Former Foster-Adopt Mom here and in Mississippi they are very thorough in their placement process. I’m pretty sure it’s because they got caught doing shady stuff in the past. No offense to anyone doing that job. Or Mississippi

my hope is that LE have their best snitches/informants as cell mates to these clowns disguised as parents. All imo.

#HerNameIsHarmony

 

[Doghairrules]

* Paywalled Article (no copy/paste per WS rules)

JAN 11, 2022
Prior to Harmony Montgomery’s disappearance, a series of police visits and a father’s history of violence - The Boston Globe

• 2008 - AM broke into an apt in Malden, demanded money from two women at gunpoint, and held a weapon to one of their necks. When LE detained AM and a man with him, AM pointed the gun at an officer before being wrestled to the ground. It was later determined to be a pellet gun.

• 2010 - AM pled guilty to armed robbery and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon for the 2008 incident.

• 2021 - AM was prosecuted in Manchester for stalking KM and her three children and resisting arrest. He received a one-year sentence that was suspended for two years and ordered to undergo mental health counseling.

Wonder why it wouldn’t have come up in the 2021 case against him that he should have had custody of a minor who wasn’t with him?

 

[Cubby]

I keep circling back to the fact that the biological mom’s paternal rights were terminated. How does that even happen? So she was an addict in previous years but got clean. It chaps me that her rights were terminated while he was given a free pass despite his violent criminal history. This goes against everything we know of reunification between moms and their children.
I also can’t get past the fact that he was given an 18 month sentence for shooting another person in the face during a drug crime. Wth is wrong with this entire situation? IMO

I know a little bit about this. Each state has different laws, but if a parent chronically relapses during treatment in the reunification process it ends. There is a finite number of times DCYS will tolerate dirty drops.

 

[Psychic Sleuth]

In my state it can go on for YEARS! If a case goes to termination of parental rights and the parent pops up and decides they want to work their plan and do the services, the whole thing starts all over again. Read Oakley Carlson's case on here.

 

[Shamrock1]

All they do is a paternity test.

I meant literal sperm donors - the kind that get paid for their sperm by grateful parents who need assistance building their families

 

[Shamrock1]

Thank you, i shouldn’t have used that, sarcastically implying that he AM is not a father figure.

Oh I know I think someone needs to devise a name for people like AM.

 

[MassGuy]

Really sad video of Harmony's brother sending his love to his sister.

"Harmony, it's me, your brother, I hope I see you soon."

We hope so too, Jamison. #HarmonyMontgomery #BringHarmonyHome
https://twitter.com/blairmillertv/status/1481817301401931786?s=21

 

[PommyMommy]

Really sad video of Harmony's brother sending his love to his sister.

We hope so too, J. #HarmonyMontgomery #BringHarmonyHome
https://twitter.com/blairmillertv/status/1481817301401931786?s=21

 

[Allabouttrial]

Really sad video of Harmony's brother sending his love to his sister.

We hope so too, J. #HarmonyMontgomery #BringHarmonyHome
https://twitter.com/blairmillertv/status/1481817301401931786?s=21

I do feel slightly concerned that Jamison is getting quite a bit of exposure for someone so young.

They appear to be very loving parents though and have his best interests at heart.

I just worry about the extent of people on SM spilling over into real life nowadays.

 

[Megnut]

Really sad video of Harmony's brother sending his love to his sister.

"Harmony, it's me, your brother, I hope I see you soon."

We hope so too, J. #HarmonyMontgomery #BringHarmonyHome
https://twitter.com/blairmillertv/status/1481817301401931786?s=21

Heart. Slumped.

 

[MassGuy]

I do feel slightly concerned that J is getting quite a bit of exposure for someone so young.

They appear to be very loving parents though and have his best interests at heart.

I just worry about the extent of people on SM spilling over into real life nowadays.

I'm sure his parents are controlling what he sees, and if this makes him feel better, then I guess it's worth it.

What sucks, is this almost certainly isn't going to have a happy ending.