The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office has released more details on Melodee Buzzard, the missing 9-year-old girl from Lompoc.
The Sheriff’s Office said it started investigating Melodee’s disappearance about three weeks ago, after a school district administrator reported an extended absence from school, and that Melodee’s mother, Ashlee Buzzard, has remained uncooperative in providing information on Melodee’s whereabouts or welfare. They said that they believe Buzzard rented a car in Lompoc, left with Melodee, drove to the Nebraska area, and returned to Lompoc alone.
In Monday’s press release, the Sheriff’s Office said that there is evidence that on October 8, Buzzard changed the license plate on the rental car she used for her road trip. The Sheriff’s Office also said that video surveillance from the Utah-Colorado border region shows Melodee on October 9 — the last known sighting of her at this time.
Melodee is described as about 4′ 6″ tall and weighing approximately 60 pounds. She has curly brown hair and brown eyes.
Below is a brief timeline of the investigation, according to press releases from the Sheriff’s Office.
October 7, 2025 – Security camera footage from a Lompoc-area rental car agency shows Melodee Buzzard and Ashlee Buzzard, both wearing wigs. In the security footage, Melodee’s wig looks darker and straighter than her natural hair. Ashlee Buzzard’s wig appears to have light brown curly hair and bangs.
The Sheriff’s Office said that Buzzard rented a White Chevrolet Malibu with license plate 9MNG101 and traveled to the Nebraska area over the next three days.
October 8, 2025 – The Sheriff’s Office said that Buzzard’s rental car was seen with a New York License plate — HCG9677 — and that they do not know when the plate was installed or whether Buzzard used other plates during travel. The plate, the Sheriff’s Office said, did not belong to the car or to Ashlee. They said they believe it was a false or switched plate used to avoid being detected.
October 9, 2025 – Video surveillance from the region between the Colorado-Utah border shows Melodee on the return route to Lompoc. This is the last confirmed sighting of Melodee, the Sheriff’s Office said.
October 10, 2025 – Ashlee Buzzard returns to Lompoc without Melodee.
October 14, 2025 – The Sheriff’s Office begins investigating Melodee Buzzard’s disappearance.
October 19, 2025 – The Federal Bureau of Investigation joins the investigation into Melodee’s disappearance.
October 30, 2025 – Sheriff’s detectives serve additional search warrants: for Ashlee Buzzard’s home on the 500 block of Mars Avenue, the rental car Melodee was last seen in, and a storage locker.
Now, the investigation is focusing on what happened to Melodee on October 9 and 10. Law enforcement said that it believes Buzzard’s rental car traveled through the following areas on or around October 9.
The Sheriff’s Office said it urges anyone in those communities to check surveillance and report relevant information, and that detectives want to talk to people who had contact with Ashlee or Melodee from October 9 to 10 or have any video footage from their travel route.
Anyone who has seen Melodee or knows where she is can come forward with information. You can contact the detective line at (805) 681-4150, the anonymous tip line at (805) 681-4171, or submit a tip online at sbsheriff.org/home/anonymous-tip/.
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