CHERISH MONTGOMERY - 3 yo - Oroville CA

A missing 3-year-old Oroville
girl was reunited with her mother for the first time in three months in
what friends say was a Christmas miracle. Cherish Montgomery
and Ashley Howell were reunited at Sacramento
International Airport at 6:35 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 29 after the child was
allegedly abducted by her father, John Montgomery of Oroville.
Alaska State Troopers found Cherish in the care of a baby sitter, next
door to Janet Hawk, John's ex-girlfriend. Troopers contacted the Butte
County District Attorney's Office on Dec. 21, according to the DA's
office.
John was arrested Monday evening by Alaska State Troopers and was in
jail awaiting extradition, Butte County DA Mike Ramsey said.
John was wanted, by the Butte County DA's Office, for parental
abduction, a felony charge of up to three years incarceration and
$10,000 in fines."Our office did a fair amount of investigating," DA Chief Investigator
Kory Honea said. "And it's hard to coordinate information, but
ultimately I'm happy everything went well."However because there were allegations of parental unfitness by both
parents, Child Protective Services has been notified, Ramsey said.
"All the safety mechanisms are in place," he said.Nonetheless,
Howell was glad her daughter was home with her, she said.
"It feels good - I didn't get to sleep until 4 a.m. last night," she
said in a Dec. 30 phone conversation from the Butte County Court house.
John had the child for a three-day visit beginning Oct. 21 but failed to
return the child to her mother who reported her missing Oct. 27.
Howell obtained sole legal custody of the child Nov. 5, Ramsey said.
Meanwhile, John was pursuing custody of Cherish in Alaska, Honea said.But
the custody battle began in August, when John alleged Howell had an
alcohol abuse problem, Honea said.
The couple came to a resolution outside of court, before their
September hearing, he said.
Cherish was flown home from Alaska with Paradise resident, Rena Eley
who happened to be visiting her husband's family in Willow, Alaska,
about 300 miles from Fairbanks, where Cherish was found.
Waiting for her daughter to come off the plane was a bit unnerving,
Howell said."I was just antsy," she said. "It took 10 minutes but it felt like the
longest 10 minutes ever. I got to hold her and everybody started
crying."Howell said she hadn't had much time with her daughter still and had a lot of catching up to do.
Eley said the story sounded strange."It's a really crazy story, and to
me I just believe everything happens
for a reason," Eley said in a phone conversation from a Seattle airport
while flying Cherish home. "And maybe there s a reason we decided to
come to Alaska for Christmas this year."Eley said she was glad to be part
of a happy ending in what could've been a tragic story."It's a sad story
but it's a good story," Eley said. "Her mom hasn't
seen her in two months. I'm glad she's safe and gets to go home.
""Yeah it's pretty cool," she continued. "How many times in a lifetime
do you get to have this happen? It's amazing."Eley and Howell are fellow
Native American tribal members, and when
Howell couldn't afford the trip to Alaska, she got a hold of Eley who
agreed to pick up the child from protective custody, Howell said.
Eley took Cherish shopping for clothes and spent some time with Cherish
in which she and her family developed a strong relationship with the 3
year old who was noticeably traumatized by the events, Eley said.
"We just figured she got a second family out of this," she said. "It
was obvious she'd been through something traumatic she was very clingy
from the moment I had her - she wouldn't eat."
Howell, 22, said both she and Cherish were traumatized by the events
that unfolded, but it was miraculous her daughter was returned.
"It doesn't happen that often that kids get brought home," she said.
"It's been hard. It was traumatizing not having her."