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.

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.

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.