New Hampshire Office of the Child Advocate reviews circumstances of Harmony Montgomery case
Heartbroken and hoping for justice, the Office of the Child Advocate has been following Harmony Montgomery’s case closely.
The search for Montgomery has now become a homicide investigation, according to officials. The attorney general said he believes she was killed in December 2019, when she would have been just five years old.
>> Harmony Montgomery believed to have been killed, New Hampshire AG says
As more details unfold, the Office of the Child Advocate will make recommendations to the state about how the system can change to help keep kids safe.
“It's truly heartbreaking to see these incidents happen in such a small state that is really built as a community focus, so anything that tears apart the community like this, it's tragic,” said Cassandra Sanchez, New Hampshire Child Advocate.
Sanchez said her office will continue to take an in-depth look at the circumstances that led to this tragedy as more information comes in with a major focus on prevention and preventative care.
"How can we educate our state to do better by our children," said Sanchez.
The public may never know what will be in that review, unlike the Office of the Child Advocate in Massachusetts, which released its findings earlier this year. The Hew Hampshire OCA is not allowed to release any reports to the public, though Sanchez is hopeful that may be a possibility once the case is resolved through the legal system.
“We share in the moment with the system, but we can sometime in the future we would like to share with the community as well, what our findings were and what our recommendations are to the state for changes to increase safety,” Sanchez said.
Sanchez said there has been a lot of outreach to her office in this case and she's thanking everyone who has come forward with information to help in their review of the system, and she is sending her sympathies to all who loved Harmony and now know she won't be coming home.
“Know that we are so saddened for you and we send you our deepest sympathies and we hope that at some point you can have justice,” said Cassandra Sanchez, New Hampshire Child Advocate.
A 24-hour tip line is open for anyone who has information about Harmony. Anyone with any information can call or text 603-203-6060.
Watch a timeline of the investigation in the player below.
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