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Human remains were found in early December in Utah in an area that it was known the youngster had travelled with her mother
Mike Bedigan in New York Tuesday 23 December 2025 19:00 GMT- Bookmark
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CloseSurveillance footage shows Ashlee Buzzard renting car with missing 9-year-old daughter
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The mother of missing nine-year-old Melodee Buzzard has been taken into custody after the child’s body was founds months after her disappearance, according to new reports.
Ashlee Buzzard, of Lompoc, California, was taken into custody following the results of a DNA test were returned, ABC News reported Tuesday.
Human remains were found in early December in Utah in an area that it was known the youngster had traveled with her mother. The results have now confirmed the remains to belong to Melodee.
Santa Barbara Sheriff's County Office have yet to release further details. A press conference is scheduled to be held at 2 p.m. PT Monday.
open image in galleryThe mother of missing nine-year-old Melodee Buzzard has been taken into custody after the child’s body was founds months after her disappearance, according to new reports (Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office)Melodee was first reported missing on October 14 when the Lompoc Unified School District reported her prolonged absence.
Deputies who went to the family’s home following the reports of her disappearance said they spoke with Ashlee Buzzard, but “no verifiable explanation for [Melodee’s] whereabouts was provided,” according to the sheriff’s office. Buzzard had not cooperated with the investigation, they added.
In early November the sheriff’s office announced that they'd narrowed their investigation to the timeframe between October 9 and October 10, while the pair were on a multi-state road trip to Nebraska which also included several stops in Utah.
open image in gallerySurveillance images shared by authorities also show Melodee, in what appeared to be a wig, alongside her mother at a Lompoc rental car company on October 7. The last confirmed sighting of Melodee came two days later, on October 9, near the Colorado-Utah border (Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office)They shared a map of the vehicle’s stops along Buzzard’s route back to California, which they believe took her through Green River, Utah; Panguitch, Utah; northwest Arizona; Primm, Nevada; and Rancho Cucamonga, California.
Surveillance images shared by authorities also show Melodee, in what appeared to be a wig, alongside her mother at a Lompoc rental car company on October 7. The last confirmed sighting of Melodee came two days later, on October 9, near the Colorado-Utah border.
Deputies revealed they believed that Buzzard removed the California plate 9MNG101 from the white 2024 Chevrolet Malibu rental car and replaced it with a New York plate HCG9677 either on or before October 8 in order “to avoid detection.”
open image in galleryOfficials previously shared a map of Ashlee Buzzard’s vehicle’s stops along her route back to California, which they believe took her through Green River, Utah; Panguitch, Utah; northwest Arizona; Primm, Nevada; and Rancho Cucamonga, California (Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office)When she returned the car, the California plate was back in place. It is unknown when the plate was installed or whether additional plates were used at other times during travel.
When her mother returned home to California on October 10, Melodee was nowhere to be found.
Ashlee Buzzard was also arrested November 7 on a charge of false imprisonment is unrelated to the missing person investigation into her daughter.
Detectives said in a press release at the time that Buzzard had prevented a victim from leaving a location against their will.