- Ashlee Buzzard arrested for investigation of murder after her daughter's remains were found in Utah's Wayne County.
- Authorities allege Buzzard attempted to hide her steps using rental car tactics.
- Melodee Buzzard was last seen Oct. 9; the missing persons report was filed by her school Oct. 14.
VANDENBERG VILLAGE, Calif. — The mother of a missing 9-year-old California girl has been arrested for investigation of first-degree murder after her daughter's remains were found in a rural area of southern Utah, Santa Barbara County Sheriff-Coroner Bill Brown said Tuesday.
Members of the sheriff's office and the FBI arrested Ashlee Buzzard, 40, Tuesday morning, Brown said. Authorities say her mother deliberately tried to hide her steps, such as backing a rental car into gas stations in an attempt to avoid detection by their surveillance cameras.
"We have recovered a significant amount of evidence that clearly indicates that this heinous crime was committed by Ashlee Buzzard, Melodee's mother, and the very person upon whom she relied upon and trusted the most in this world," Brown said at a news conference.
During the press conference Tuesday, Brown hinted that Buzzard would be charged in California because that's where the "intent," or the plan to allegedly kill Melodee started.
However, Utah's Wayne County Attorney Michael Winn told KSL Tuesday after the press conference that he hasn't ruled out the possibility of criminal charges also being filed in Utah. He anticipated prosecutors and investigators from all the involved agencies would soon be discussing the next steps in the legal process.
In a social media post, the Wayne County Sheriff's Office said the girl's body was found near a road in the Caineville area on Dec. 6. Within 24 hours, the evidence collected determined the victim was likely Melodee from a missing persons case the department had been working on with Santa Barbara officials for several weeks.
The body was initially discovered by a couple who were taking photos in a remote part of Wayne County, Brown said.
The remains couldn't be immediately identified, he said, but "it was apparent that the decedent was a female who had died from gunshot wounds to the head."
DNA analysis found a familial DNA match to Melodee's mother, he added.
Investigators do not have the murder weapon, and it's unclear as to the motive of the killing. Ashlee Buzzard is "uncooperative," authorities said Tuesday.
Melodee's paternal grandmother Lilly Denes told CNN affiliates KEYT and KSBY earlier Tuesday the sheriff's office informed her Melodee's body had been discovered.
CNN has reached out to the grandmother, who declined to comment because she was on her way to the news conference.
Brown went through a timeline on Tuesday that explained what led investigators to Melodee's body.
Melodee was last seen Oct. 9
Buzzard went on a road trip with her 9-year-old daughter on Oct. 7, when surveillance footage captured the girl at a local car rental agency dressed in what seemed to be a disguise, authorities said.
Melodee was wearing a hoodie pulled over her head and "what appears to be a wig that is darker and straighter than her natural hair," the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office said. "Investigators believe the wig may have been used to alter her appearance."
Over the next three days, the rental car traveled through Nebraska, Utah, Arizona, Nevada and Kansas before returning home to Lompoc, about 55 miles northwest of Santa Barbara, authorities said.
"Investigators have confirmed that Ashlee was seen returning to her Lompoc residence on Oct. 10, driving the same rental vehicle she departed with on Oct. 7 – but Melodee was not in the car," the sheriff's office said.
The child was last seen Oct. 9 in video surveillance in the region around the Colorado and Utah state line.
Melodee was reported missing days later on Oct. 14 — not by a family member, but by a school administrator concerned about her long absence.
The FBI joined the search for Melodee, a case that has drawn widespread attention well outside Southern California.
This story may be updated.
