A Southern California mother rented a car this month and drove her 9-year-old daughter halfway across the country, to Nebraska.
Three days later she returned home alone, and has since refused to answer questions about the girl’s whereabouts.
Now, Ashlee Buzzard’s road trip has become the central focus of the FBI’s and Santa Barbara County Sheriff Office’s search for her missing daughter, Melodee.
Authorities believe Buzzard left the Lompoc area with her daughter on Oct. 7, drove to Nebraska, and then returned to her Vandenberg Village home on Oct. 10, passing through Kansas along the way. The three-day journey would have crossed around 3,000 miles and required around 48 hours of driving, according to Google Maps.
On Friday, the Sheriff’s Office released new surveillance camera photos of Melodee that were captured at a California car rental business on Oct. 7.
“In the photo, Melodee is wearing a hooded sweatshirt with the hood pulled up and what appears to be a wig that is darker and straighter than her natural hair,” the office said. “Investigators believe the wig may have been used to alter her appearance.”
Authorities say Buzzard, who was also known to wear wigs, rented a white Chevrolet Malibu with the license plate 9MNG101.
Anyone who may have seen her or her daughter during their trip is asked to contact the Sheriff’s Office.
“Our detectives are following every lead in this case. We continue to seek information from the public that could help us find Melodee,” Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said in a statement. “We remain determined to bring her home safely.”
Melodee was discovered missing on Oct. 14 after the Lompoc Unified School District contacted the Sheriff’s Office to report the girl’s prolonged absence from her independent study program. Detectives visited her home that day, but Melodee was nowhere to be seen and Buzzard refused to cooperate with their investigation, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Buzzard has not responded to The Times’ requests for comment.
Initially, the Sheriff’s Office was unable to confirm any sightings of Melodee within the past year. The FBI joined the investigation on Oct. 18 and two days later the Sheriff’s Office confirmed that Melodee was seen as recently as Oct. 7.
She is described as 4’6” tall, weighing about 60 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes.
Relatives on Melodee’s father’s side claim that Buzzard has refused to let them visit the girl. Melodee’s father, Rubiell Meza, died in a 2016 motorcycle accident shortly after she was born.
“She hasn’t let us see her for a few years,” Melodee’s aunt Bridgett Truitt told local news station KEYT. “And all of us have tried. But we never stopped thinking about her or loving her or praying for her.”
Meza’s family is holding a vigil for Melodee outside of her Vandenberg Village home on Friday evening to pray for her safe return. Votive candles and posters of Melodee have been set up on the street over the last week.
“I am horrified for my little niece, I can’t imagine what she’s gone through,” Melodee’s aunt Vicky Shade told The Times. “This does not sound good. I just want to know if she’s OK. We need to find her.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Sheriff’s Office at (805) 681-4150. Tips can also be left anonymously at (805) 681-4171 or at SBSheriff.org.
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