Gov. Sununu says failures in state child welfare agencies caused Harmony Montgomery to be placed with her father

Harmony Montgomery hasn’t been seen since late 2019 when she was five years old and living with her father, Adam Montgomery, in New Hampshire.

But it wasn’t until December 2021 that police and the New Hampshire Division of Children, Youth and Families opened an investigation into her disappearance after finding they couldn’t locate her.

New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu and other leaders have cited a Massachusetts judge’s February 2019 decision to put her in the care of her father, who is a convicted drug dealer, as the move that led to her disappearance.

But according to The Boston Globe, Sununu is now widening the blame for what happened, saying that a communication breakdown between the Massachusetts and New Hampshire child welfare agencies contributed to Harmony getting lost in the system.

“My gut tells me right now that the biggest break of the system wasn’t just about Massachusetts or just about New Hampshire. It’s really about the transfer of information across states,” Sununu said at a press conference, The Globe reported.

“At least, on a preliminary review, that’s clearly where the system had the most trouble. And that doesn’t put blame on one side or the other. I think all 50 states really need to work better and develop better systems, in conjunction with one another, and in partnership, to ensure the welfare of the children that may be crossing borders.”

According to The Globe, New Hampshire’s child welfare system has historically been one of the most overworked and underfunded agencies of its kind in the country.

Harmony’s disappearance has led to internal investigations of Harmony’s case in both states, as well as increased public scrutiny of these states’ child welfare agencies.

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