(Photo by John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via AP) Manchester Police Public Information Officer Heather Hamel, at a recent news conference at Manchester police headquarters, holds two reward posters showing photos of missing Manchester girl Harmony Montgomery.

MANCHESTER — Behind the around the clock, leave-no-stone-unturned investigative work of more than a dozen law enforcement officers ranging from patrol officers up to senior members of Attorney General John Formella’s staff, the time frame during which 5-year-old Harmony Montgomery went missing has been narrowed from a window of more than two years to a roughly two-week span of time in late 2019.

Such a significant shortening of the time frame allows investigators to sharpen their focus on the days, and even the hours, between Nov. 28 – Dec. 10, 2019, the period during which they now believe Harmony disappeared.

Meanwhile, around the same time Formella was announcing the new developments in the search for Harmony, her stepmother, Kayla Montgomery, was standing before Superior Court Judge Amy B. Messer for her arraignment and bail hearing on a revised set of three charges. They include one count of theft by deception, a Class A felony, and two counts of welfare fraud, Class A misdemeanors.

An additional charge of felony welfare fraud was dropped by the prosecution.

To date, neither Kayla nor her former husband Adam Montgomery, who is Harmony’s biological father (Harmony’s biological mother is Crystal Sorey, currently a Lowell resident), face charges directly related to Harmony’s disappearance or her whereabouts.

(Photo by JESSICA RINALDI/The Boston Globe) Court officers escort Kayla Montgomery into a Hillsborough County Superior Court North courtroom Monday morning for a hearing on new charges filed against her in connection with the Harmony Montgomery missing-child case.

Adam Montgomery was arrested on Jan. 4 and has been held in jail since. He is charged with one count of second-degree assault, a Class B felony; two counts of endangering the welfare of a child, Class A misdemeanors; and one count of interference with custody, also a Class A misdemeanor.

The assault charge accuses Montgomery of causing bodily injury to Harmony by striking her in the face — which caused a black eye — between July 1 and July 22, 2019.

The two endangering charges accuse Montgomery of failing to have Harmony in his physical custody since November 2019, while he had legal custody of her; and allegedly preventing Division of Children, Youth and Families representatives from obtaining physical custody of Harmony.

The interference charge accuses Montgomery of concealing Harmony from DCYF officials and refusing to provide police with information leading to her whereabouts, according to the charging documents.

As for Kayla Montgomery’s Monday court appearance, Messer, the judge, granted her motion to convert her current $5,000 cash or surety bail to personal recognizance, but only if she applies to, and is accepted into, the Cynthia Day Family Center, which provides specialized residential and outpatient treatment programs. Located in Nashua in the Keystone Hall facility, the program is affiliated with Nashua-based agency Harbor Care.

(Photo by InDepthNH) Harmony Montgomery at age 5.

Messer, in issuing her order at the end of the day Monday, noted that Kayla Montgomery “has a limited criminal history … and has no history of failing to appear for any court appearance.”

Montgomery, according to Messer, never attempted to flee even after learning that she was being investigated in connection with Harmony’s disappearance.

The conditions of Montgomery’s personal recognizance bail order include her entry and successful completion of the Cynthia Day program, that she check in by phone daily with Manchester police, sign a waiver of extradition and have no contact with Adam Montgomery, according to the order.

Regarding the new information on the search for Harmony, Senior Assistant Benjamin Agati said in a statement that investigators have been interviewing “multiple individuals” — presumably including representatives of the state Division of Children, Youth and Families and its Massachusetts counterpart — in recent weeks.

The investigators learned from the interviews that Adam and Kayla Montgomery, along with Harmony and the two children they have together, were living at 77 Gilford St. until they were evicted on Nov. 27, 2019.

(Courtesy photo) An example of a 2010 Chrysler Sebring, similar to one of the vehicles Adam and Kayla Montgomery are believed to have lived in when they were homeless.

Those interviewed recalled seeing Harmony with the Montgomerys and their two children around that time, and in the next few days.

But people who saw the family between Dec. 6-10, 2019 told investigators the Montgomerys’ two children in common were with them — but that Harmony “was no longer with them,” Agati wrote.

Investigators spent portions of several days at the Gilford Street residence, bringing onto the property tools as basic as shovels, buckets and tarps and as advanced as high-tech electronic devices including a drone, which police flew over and around the house and yard collecting photos and video for hours.

They haven’t said what, if anything, of any significance to the case was located on the property.

Other witnesses police interviewed said the Montgomerys were homeless and had been living out of cars, possibly in the North End of Manchester.

(Courtesy photo) An example of a 2006 Audi S4, similar to one of the vehicles Adam and Kayla Montgomery are believed to have lived in when they were homeless.

One of the cars was described as a silver 2010 Chrysler Sebring; another was a dark blue 2006 Audi S4, according to the statement.

Harmony’s disappearance has caught the attention of a wide range of people, and media outlets, from well beyond New Hampshire’s borders. Individuals and groups have pledged varying amounts of money to the reward fund created early on in the investigation. Based on the outpouring of donations, that fund is now approaching the

$150,000 mark.

Manchester police also set up a dedicated Tip Line — 603-203-6060 — to receive phone calls and text messages from anyone who may have information on the case.

Agati said investigators are especially interested in hearing from “anyone who saw, or interacted with, Adam or Kayla Montgomery, or their children, during the Nov. 28 – Dec. 10, 2019 time frame … and anyone who saw either the Chrysler or Audi vehicles around that time.

“Any information, no matter how small or insignificant it may seem, may contribute to the overall investigation,” Agati added.

Dean Shalhoup may be reached at 594-1256 or dshalhoup@nashuatelegraph.com.

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