Wig disguises, a swapped license plate and a 1,000-mile drive: Where the search for 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard stands

https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/08/us/melodee-buzzard-missing-search-update

It’s been a month since Ashlee Buzzard packed her 9-year-old daughter 
Melodee into a rental car and left their home state of California — only 
to return three days later with no child and plenty of unanswered 
questions in tow, authorities say.

As investigators search for Melodee, they say their probe has uncovered a 
series of wigged disguises, a sprawling multistate road trip, and an 
“uncooperative” mother who has provided “no verifiable explanation” of her 
daughter’s whereabouts.

The case took an unexpected turn on Friday when Buzzard, 40, was arrested 
on a charge of false imprisonment — but not for the disappearance of her 
daughter. “This crime is not connected to the ongoing search for Melodee, 
however, detectives are unable to fully outline the crime as it would 
impede their ongoing investigation,” the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s 
Office said.

Here’s what we know about the case — and the many questions that still 
remain.

A concerned school official noticed Melodee’s ‘prolonged absence’
Melodee’s disappearance was reported on October 14, not by her family but 
by school administrators who noticed she had not been participating in the 
remote study program her mother had recently enrolled her in.

School district officials in the child’s hometown of Lompoc say Melodee 
was enrolled in August in an independent study program, which allows 
students to learn from home. That was the last month she was seen by the 
school, the sheriff’s office has said.

It is not clear whether the school last saw Melodee virtually or in 
person, but the sheriff’s office said an administrator contacted police 
for a welfare check after her “prolonged absence.”

The school’s August sighting helped narrow detectives’ timeline at the 
beginning of the investigation, when authorities were working with 
outdated childhood photos and family members who said they had not seen 
Melodee for years.

In an interview with NewsNation last month, Melodee’s aunt, Lizabeth Meza, 
said she had not seen her niece in four years. The aunt said their 
extended family largely lost contact with the child after her father died 
in a motorcycle accident when she was a baby.

When Melodee’s school asked for a welfare check on October 14, officers 
arrived at her mother’s home but only found Buzzard, who “provided no 
verifiable explanation for Melodee’s whereabouts,” the sheriff’s office 
said.

Officers searched the home, but Melodee was nowhere to be found.

The sheriff’s office said this week Buzzard “has remained uncooperative 
and has not confirmed Melodee’s location or welfare.”

CNN has been unable to identify an attorney for Buzzard.

Melodee likely disappeared during a whirlwind multistate road trip
Detectives have narrowed their investigation to a small but very eventful 
three-day window from October 7-10, in which they believe the mother drove 
Melodee more than 1,000 miles away — as far as Nebraska — crossing at 
least six states and trading license plates and disguises as they went.

At the end of the three-day trip, Buzzard returned home with the rental 
car, this time without Melodee.

The last time Melodee was seen was on October 9 in an area around the 
Colorado and Utah state line. Here’s what investigators say happened on 
their trip:

On October 7, Buzzard left California with Melodee, driving a rented white 
2024 Chevrolet Malibu. That day, the pair was captured on the rental 
agency’s surveillance camera appearing to be wearing wigs.
The vehicle’s travel route spanned as far as Nebraska, and the return 
route detoured into Kansas. It is unclear when the car began to head back 
west.
During the journey, the license plate on the Malibu, which was originally 
a California plate (9MNG101), appears to change. The car is seen with a 
New York license plate (HCG9677) beginning October 8. “The plate does not 
belong to the vehicle or Buzzard and is believed to have been used as a 
false or switched plate to avoid detection,” the sheriff’s office said.
On October 9, detectives believe the Chevy Malibu traveled through cities 
in at least four states, including: Green River, Utah; Panguitch, Utah; 
Northwest Arizona; Primm, Nevada; Rancho Cucamonga, California.
October 9 is the last time Melodee is seen. Surveillance footage captured 
her in an area near the Colorado–Utah state line on the return trip.
On October 10, the Malibu is returned to the Lompoc rental agency with its 
original California plates.
Finding Melodee now hinges on detectives unearthing what happened to the 
girl after she was last seen on October 9.

The sheriff’s office released a travel-route map of where they believe the 
mother and daughter traveled between October 9 and 10, and is asking 
businesses, gas stations, hotels, rest stops and residents along the route 
to review surveillance camera footage that may catch a glimpse of the 
child.

A series of wigs may have provided quick disguises, investigators say
Anyone who came across the mother and daughter may not recognize them in 
some publicly released pictures, as authorities believe Buzzard may have 
taken steps to conceal their identities, including tucking her daughter’s 
ringlet curls under a smooth wig.

Surveillance footage from the rental car business in Lompoc on October 7 
showed Buzzard and Melodee in what appeared to be wigs, the sheriff’s 
office said in a release that shared a clip of the video.

Over the next three days, authorities say Buzzard appeared to swap wigs, 
trading fake, honey blonde curls for a darker wig closer to the style 
Melodee was seen in.

“This change in appearance is believed to have been intentional to avoid 
recognition during travel,” the release said.

Melodee’s grandmother, Lilly Denes, told CNN affiliate KSBY that when she 
first saw the surveillance images, she was overwhelmed.

“I was totally numb and in shock. … This is just so shocking to me in that 
my granddaughter is dressed in a disguise,” Denes told the affiliate.

“If she’s listening, we love you. We’re here for you, and we just want you 
to be happy,” the grandmother said. “Call me. There are numbers on the TV 
that you can call, and I will come pick you up.”

Mother is accused of falsely imprisoning someone in unrelated charge
In a sudden turn of events on Friday, the sheriff’s office announced while 
they were investigating Melodee’s disappearance, they learned her mother 
had recently “prevented a victim 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 
sheriff’s office said.

Buzzard has been charged with a felony charge of false imprisonment by 
violence, according to the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s 
Office. She is being held at a county jail with bail set at $100,000, 
records show.

Prosecutors say the incident happened in Lompoc on November 6 and involved 
a person who is not Melodee, but investigators have so far been reluctant 
to share more details.

The arrest comes about a week after the FBI served search warrants at 
Buzzard’s home and a storage locker, as well as the rental car Melodee was 
last seen in.

“Sheriff’s detectives remain fully focused on locating Melodee and 
confirming her safety,” the Friday release said.

Anyone who has seen Melodee or may have information about her whereabouts 
is encouraged to call the sheriff’s office or leave an anonymous tip.


-- 
November 5, 2024 - Congratulations President Donald Trump.  We look 
forward to America being great again.

We live in a time where intelligent people are being silenced so that 
stupid people won't be offended.

Every day is an IQ test. Some pass, some, not so much.

Thank you for cleaning up the disasters of the 2008-2017, 2020-2024 Obama 
/ Biden / Harris fiascos, President Trump.

Under Barack Obama's leadership, the United States of America became the 
The World According To Garp.  Obama sold out heterosexuals for Hollywood 
queer liberal democrat donors.