The stepmother of missing New Hampshire 7-year-old Harmony Montgomery is now facing gun charges, authorities announced Tuesday.
Kayla Montgomery, 31, of Manchester, is charged with two counts of receiving stolen property related to a gun theft that took place in September or October of 2019.
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Adam Montgomery, Harmony's father and Kayla's estranged husband, was arrested earlier this month on eight charges related to the same firearms theft.
Prosecutors allege that between Sept. 29, and Oct. 3, 2019, Adam Montgomery stole a rifle and shotgun from another person. He is facing two counts of theft by unauthorized taking, two counts of receiving stolen property, two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm and two counts of being an armed career criminal.
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Kayla Montgomery then allegedly received or retained the rifle and shotgun knowing or at least believing that they had probably been stolen, prosecutors said.
Authorities said there is no evidence of any connection between the stolen firearms and the disappearance of Harmony Montgomery.
Kayla Montgomery had already been indicted on one charge of theft by deception, alleging that she lied last year that Harmony was in her household to claim food stamp benefits exceeding $1,500. She was originally arrested on Jan. 5. She pleaded not guilty to that charge and is being held at the Hillsborough County House of Corrections.
Police continue to investigate Harmony’s disappearance, which they believe occurred between Nov. 28 and Dec. 10 of 2019. But they did not learn she was missing until two years later. She was last seen in Manchester.
In September, someone known to be a “close contact” of Harmony’s mother, Crystal Sorey, contacted the division and “raised concerns” that Sorey hadn’t seen her daughter since 2019 and hadn’t been able to contact Adam Montgomery, the review said. The division confirmed that Harmony had never been registered for school in the public school system.
The division attempted to find the Montgomery family and speak with Sorey, who later told police she hadn’t seen her daughter since a Facetime call around Easter 2019.
Anyone with information about Harmony's disappearance or current whereabouts is asked to call the Manchester Police Department's 24-hour tip line at 603-203-6060. The reward for information that helps lead to Harmony being found has increased to $150,000.
