"The search for Melodee Buzzard began on October 14 when a school administrator reported the 9-year-old had been absent for a prolonged time. The investigation into her whereabouts has now stretched for nearly a month, focused on a 1,000-mile road trip from California to Nebraska, and has led to the arrest of her "uncooperative" mother, Ashlee Buzzard, on an unrelated charge. Here's a closer look at the timeline of the child's disappearance and the search for her. Mother-daughter life in SoCal Melodee and Ashlee Buzzard lived in a home on Mars Avenue in Lompoc, California, about an hour's drive west of Santa Barbara. Melodee's father died from a motorcycle crash when she was only 6 months old, CNN affiliate KSBY reported."
"On October 7, Ashlee Buzzard left California with Melodee, driving a rented white 2024 Chevrolet Malibu, and returned three days later without the girl. That period is now a "critical" time frame for investigators, the sheriff's office said. Surveillance footage from the rental car business in Lompoc showed the mother-daughter pair wearing what appeared to be wigs on October 7, the sheriff's office said. "Investigators also believe that Ashlee swapped wigs throughout the trip, changing to a darker wig that is similar in color and style to the one Melodee was seen wearing," the sheriff's office said. "This change in appearance is believed to have been i"
Melodee Buzzard, a 9-year-old from Lompoc, California, was reported absent on October 14 after participating in a remote study program. On October 7, Melodee and her mother, Ashlee Buzzard, left in a rented 2024 white Chevrolet Malibu for a roughly 1,000-mile trip to Nebraska; Ashlee returned three days later without Melodee. Surveillance from the rental business showed both wearing wigs and investigators say Ashlee swapped wigs during the trip. Family members reported being out of touch for years. Ashlee was later arrested on an unrelated charge and described as uncooperative. Melodee was last seen in August 2025 and is described as about 4-feet-6-inches tall and 60 pounds.
Read at ABC7 Los Angeles
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