Video above: Ashley Banfield of NewsNation joins the KTLA 5 News to discuss the Melodee Buzzard investigation on Oct. 30, 2025.
California authorities investigating the disappearance of 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard revealed bombshell new information in the search for her, including that license plates were switched on a rental car driven by her mother some time after leaving on a cross-country road trip.
Melodee was first reported missing on Oct. 14 when faculty at her elementary school noticed she had been absent for a long period of time. The young girl was homeschooled at her home located in Vandenberg Village, near the Space Force Base that shares the same name in Lompoc, in Santa Barbara County.
When Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office officials began their investigation, they questioned Melodee’s mother, Ashlee Buzzard, who was unable to provide a clear explanation on her daughter’s condition or whereabouts. Just one day into the investigation, authorities then found that there was no credible sighting of Melodee in a year, and also found she hadn’t been photographed in two years.
In the wake of this discovery, the sheriff’s office said Ashlee Buzzard became “uncooperative” with them.
About a week after Melodee was reported missing, it was confirmed that she had been seen in August 2025 after SBSO’s request for public assistance netted a potential lead and a confirmed sighting this year.
Shortly after, authorities released bombshell evidence that indicated Melodee had been seen as recently as Oct. 7. Photos taken that day released by the sheriff’s office from a Lompoc-area rental car business show a girl, who is assumed to be Melodee, wearing a gray sweatshirt with her hood up, covering a head full of straight, black hair. Investigators said at the time that they believed she was wearing a wig potentially to conceal her identity, as previous images show she had brown, curly hair.
Ashlee Buzzard, officials added, has been known to regularly wear wigs.
Further investigation revealed that the mother and daughter got into a rented white Chevrolet Malibu with the California license plate 9MNG101, and when authorities tracked its movements, they discovered it had been driven as far east as Nebraska, with the return trip including the state of Kansas.
Ashlee Buzzard eventually returned to Santa Barbara County on Oct. 10 and dropped off the rental car, but she was without Melodee. It wasn’t until four days later that Melodee was reported missing and the case began to unfold.
Since then, the FBI has been brought in to help with the investigation, and while search warrants have been served at the home, the rental car and a storage locker belonging to Ashlee at an undisclosed location, she has not been arrested. Meanwhile, NewsNation’s Ashleigh Banfield obtained video that appears to show Ashlee Buzzard removing missing person posters that had been placed on her property.
On Tuesday, more key evidence was released by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office surrounding Melodee’s whereabouts. It was confirmed by SBSO that sometime around Oct. 8, while the pair were going east, the California plate on the rental car had been switched to a New York license plate with the number HCG9677.
“It is unknown when the plate was installed or whether additional plates were used at other times during travel,” SBSO said in a media statement, adding that the New York plate seen on the car does not belong to the vehicle or Ashlee. “Investigators believe it was used as a false or switched plate to avoid detection.”
The New York license plate had been removed and replaced with the assigned California plate by the time Ashlee returned the car on Oct. 10, SBSO stated.
Additional evidence released Tuesday confirmed that Melodee was in fact seen along the return route on Oct. 9; it had previously been said she had last been sighted at the rental car agency two days prior. According to detectives, the young girl was seen on video surveillance in the Colorado-Utah border region, and now, the focus has turned to filling in gaps in the timeline for Oct. 9.
“Investigators are working to fill gaps in the timeline for that date and are working with law enforcement agencies in Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Nevada and Southern California for assistance in reaching the members of their communities,” SBSO said.
Based on what they’ve found thus far, investigators believe the Chevrolet Malibu driven by Ashlee Buzzard traveled through the following areas on or around Oct. 9, 2025:
- Green River, Utah
- Panguitch, Utah
- Northwest Arizona
- Primm, Nevada
- Rancho Cucamonga, California
A map of the vehicle’s reported stops has been released in the hopes that members of those communities have relevant information, including security footage, that they can provide to authorities.
The map can be viewed below:
“Detectives are seeking anyone who may have had contact with Ashlee or Melodee at any point from Oct. 9 through Oct. 10, or any video footage from their route of travel,” investigators said.
In addition, another photo from the rental car agency in Lompoc were also released Tuesday that shows both Melodee and Ashlee appearing to wear wigs.
It can be viewed below:
Melodee Buzzard is described by authorities as a 9-year-old girl who stands approximately 4 feet, 6 inches tall and weighs 60 pounds. Her natural hair is brown and curly — the wig she appeared to be wearing has black, straight hair — and she has brown eyes.
Anyone with information on the case, including sightings of Melodee or details on her whereabouts, can contact authorities via the following three options:
- Detectives Line: 805-681-4150
- Anonymous Tip Line: 805-681-4171
- Online: www.sbsheriff.org/home/anonymous-tip
More details will be provided as information that doesn’t compromise the integrity of the investigation becomes available, SBSO said.
Travis Schlepp contributed to this report.
The post A fake license plate, a new sighting and a return route: New details in Melodee Buzzard case revealed appeared first on KTLA.
