The search for 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard took a new turn on Thursday when the FBI searched the girl’s Santa Barbara County home weeks after she was reported missing.
Detectives escorted the girl’s mother, Ashlee Buzzard, off the property to another location “that would not interfere with their ability to conduct a thorough search,” the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office said.
Along with the search at the home in the 500 block of Mars Avenue, authorities also searched a storage locker and the rental car that the girl was last seen in. Authorities said Melodee was missing on Oct. 14 after a prolonged absence from her school. Officials believe she was last seen as recently as Oct. 7 and may have been driven to Nebraska by her mother, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Sheriff’s detectives and FBI agents served a search warrant at the Buzzard home where a makeshift memorial on the sidewalk includes a picture of the curly haired girl.
“We appreciate the FBI’s assistance in today’s searches,” Lt. Chris Gotschall from the Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. “In cases like this, every detail matters and it is invaluable to have additional resources and specialized expertise. Collaboration with our federal partners allows us to ensure we’re using every available tool to help bring resolution to this case.”
The Lompoc School District contacted the Sheriff’s Office to report the girl’s prolonged absence from her independent study program Oct. 14. Authorities then 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.
Relatives on the girl’s father’s side of the family said they have not seen the girl in years.
“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.”
Local authorities were unable to confirm any sightings of the girl within the last year. The FBI joined the investigation four days after her school district reported her absence.
Melodee is described as 4 feet 6 inches tall, weighing about 60 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes.
Staff writer Clara Harter contributed to this report.
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