As the search for missing 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard continues, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department announced the arrest of her mother, 40-year-old Ashlee Buzzard, on unrelated charges.
Authorities said Ashlee was arrested Friday for false imprisonment after detectives learned she allegedly prevented another individual from leaving a location against their will. “Although this arrest occurred during the course of the missing person investigation, it is not directly related to Melodee’s disappearance,” the department clarified in a news release.
Melodee was reported missing on October 14 by staff at the Lompoc Unified School District, who noted that she had not been seen since August, according to the sheriff’s office.
Investigators obtained surveillance footage from October 7 showing Melodee and her mother at a rental car lot, both wearing wigs. They left their Lompoc home in a rented 2024 white Chevrolet Malibu with California license plate 9MNG101.
Authorities believe Ashlee switched wigs multiple times while traveling through Arizona, Nevada, Utah, and possibly Nebraska. The vehicle was later spotted with a New York license plate (HCG9677).
The last confirmed sighting of Melodee was on October 9, when security video captured the pair crossing the Colorado-Utah border in the same Malibu.
Deputies said Ashlee has been uncooperative with investigators. “Sheriff’s detectives remain fully focused on locating Melodee and confirming her safety,” the statement added.
Anyone with information about Melodee Buzzard’s whereabouts is urged to contact the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office at (805) 681-4150 or submit an anonymous tip via (805) 681-4171 or online at www.sbsheriff.org/home/anonymous-tip/
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