Final moments of Airlie Montgomery, 6, before she disappeared as urgent search comes to a grim end

Published on: March 17, 2025

By ASHLEY NICKEL FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA

Published: 01:03 GMT, 17 March 2025 | Updated: 01:21 GMT, 17 March 2025

A six-year-old girl who was found dead following an urgent search was spotted running around on the street hours before she disappeared.

Airlie Montgomery was last seen in the NSW South Coast town of North Nowra at 2.15pm on Sunday.

About 100 community members joined the search for the little girl, who wore a pink jumpsuit and no shoes.

A body, believed to be Airlie’s remains, was found four hours after she was reported missing in bushland.

Krishnan, a local from North Nowra, was one of the dozens who helped search for the six-year-old.

He told the ABC he saw the little girl running along a housing estate on Sunday morning.

‘I feel very sad for the passing of a six-year-old girl,’ Krishnan said.

‘This morning I was sitting on the bench there and saying a prayer for her and saying bye-bye to her.’

Airlie Montgomery (pictured) was last seen in the NSW South Coast town of North Nowra at 2.15pm on Sunday

A local recalled seeing Airlie (pictured) running along a housing estate on Sunday morning

It’s understood Airlie went missing near The Grotto Walk, a hiking area with cliff-top views.

Krishnan returned home as it was getting dark and heard helicopters continue the search.

‘There were two helicopters; one arriving around 12 o’clock and a police helicopter at 5pm,’ he said.

NSW Police are not treating Airlie’s death as suspicious, instead it believes her death was a case of misadventure.

A report will be prepared for the coroner.

More to come.