Where is Melodee Buzzard? Mother of missing 9-year-old arrested on unrelated charges, sheriff says

SALT LAKE CITY — After not hearing from 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard for months, school administrators raised the alarm to authorities in California. Deputies paid a visit to Melodee's home, where they found her mother, alone. It was believed that Melodee's disappearance might have occurred when she and her mother, Ashlee Buzzard, took a road trip together from California to Nebraska on Oct. 7. Detectives believed Melodee could have been located in several cities where a 2024 Chevrolet Malibu rental was seen traveling through, including Green River and Panguitch. A few oddities existed in the case, including the fact that the Malibu had its plates switched from the California ones it was issued with, to a second plate number that was observed on surveillance footage. Investigators believed Buzzard may have swapped them to avoid detection while traveling. Secondly, Buzzard and Melodee were both observed on surveillance footage wearing various wigs, according to investigators. They believed that Buzzard had swapped wigs throughout the trip. [gallery columns="2" ids="842688,842689"] "This change in appearance is believed to have been intentional to avoid recognition during travel," the sheriff's office said. Melodee was last seen on Oct. 9 on video surveillance in the "region between the Colorado-Utah border." Authorities released a travel route map, urging businesses in Utah, Arizona, Nevada and California to check surveillance footage from Oct. 9 and 10. The Federal Bureau of Investigation became involved in the case, and on Oct. 30, a search warrant was served on Buzzard's home in Lompoc. On Friday, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office announced Buzzard's arrest. "Detectives learned of a recent incident where Ashlee prevented a victim from leaving a location, against their will which constitutes false imprisonment," the sheriff's office said. "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." "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. The sheriff's office said Buzzard was booked in to the Northern Branch Jail on a felony charge of false imprisonment, with bail set at $100,000. Anyone with information about where Melodee could be was urged to contact the sheriff's office via a tip line.

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