(Photo by JEFFREY HASTINGS) Kayla Montgomery consults with her attorney, Paul Garrity, during her arraignment Thursday on a felony charge of welfare fraud.

MANCHESTER — As the intensive, around the clock search for missing Manchester girl Harmony Montgomery presses on, police said Thursday they had collected evidence along the way that led to a second arrest in the case.

Taken into custody was Kayla Montgomery, the former wife of Harmony’s biological father, Adam Montgomery, who, she told police, she hadn’t seen since October 2021 and thought he’d moved to Maine “with another female.”

Kayla Montgomery, 31, who lists 177 Lake St. in Manchester as her physical address and 72 Concord St., Manchester, as her mailing address, is charged with one count of prohibited acts — welfare fraud, a Class A felony that accuses her of making false reports to state DHHS officials.

According to police reports, Montgomery told the DHHS that Harmony came to live with her and Adam Montgomery in February 2019, which increased the Montgomery family’s welfare benefits account by $129 per month.

The Montgomerys continued receiving that additional $129 per month through June 2021, police said — even though Harmony was not living with Adam and Kayla.

Kayla Montgomery, age 31, of 177 Lake St., Manchester

When police located Kayla on Dec. 31, she told the officers that she had seen Harmony just once during that entire time frame — when Adam had Harmony with him saying he was taking her to her mother’s home in Massachusetts.

Police, in interviewing Harmony’s biological mother, Crystal Sorey, learned that Sorey hadn’t seen Harmony either, but had been searching for her for more than a year.

Meanwhile, Kayla Montgomery, when confronted by police of the discrepancy between her DHHS reports stating Harmony was living with her and Adam, and her recent statements that she’d seen Harmony just once during that period, she “acknowledged receiving those benefits knowingly,” and that she tried to remove Harmony’s name from the reports but was unsuccessful, according to police reports.

Montgomery was booked on the charge and held overnight pending Thursday’s arraignment, at which Hillsborough County Superior Court North Judge Amy B. Messer set bail at $5,000 cash or surety. If she makes bail, certain conditions apply, including that she have no contact with Adam Montgomery, and she must check in daily in person at the Manchester Police Department.

She cannot travel outside New Hampshire, and must sign a waiver of extradition when she posts bail.

(Manchester police photo) Harmony Montgomery, missing from Manchester since October 2019.

Unlike Adam Montgomery, who was arrested Tuesday on charges accusing him of assaulting Harmony when she was 5, endangering her welfare and interfering with custody, Kayla Montgomery appeared in person at her arraignment.

Wearing a facemask and standard-issue orange jumpsuit, she was escorted into the courtroom and to the defense table, taking a seat next to her lawyer, Attorney Paul Garrity.

As the legal proceedings were taking place, Manchester police were in the process of gratefully accepting additional donations to the fund that is offering a reward for information that leads investigators to Harmony.

Department members are “so thankful for the outpouring of support as we continue to look for 7-year-old Harmony Montgomery,” department spokeswoman Heather Hamel said in a statement.

Donations received in the past day or so have boosted the fund to $60,000, Hamel said, nearly doubling Wednesday’s total of $33,000.

(Photo by JEFFREY HASTINGS) A court officer escorts Kayla Montgomery into a Manchester courtroom for her arraignment Thursday on a felony welfare fraud charge. Her attorney, Paul Garrity, is in the foreground.

Among the contributors, she said, is the U.S. Marshals Service, which pledged $10,000 as part of its commitment “to working with both law enforcement and the public to bring forward more information that leads to Harmony Montgomery’s whereabouts,” Hamel said.

At home in Manchester, local businessman Joseph Zagarella added another $5,000 to the fund, while Jeff Comeau of Seabrook, and an anonymous donor from Nevada, pledged $1,000 each.

Police continue to urge anyone who may have any information on Harmony’s whereabouts, or know someone who does, to contact the newly dedicated Tip Line at 203-6060. The line accepts both phone calls and text messages, and is manned around the clock.

Manchester police, Hamel said, “appreciate everyone’s help in this matter.

“An innocent child is unaccounted for, and we are working tirelessly to get the answers needed to locate her.”

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