SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. — Ashlee Buzzard, the mom of missing 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard, has been arrested Tuesday morning in connection with the death of her missing daughter, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office said in a press conference Tuesday.
Human remains found in Utah in early December have been identified as Melodee, the sheriff’s office said.
Law enforcement believes Melodee was killed, and that she was likely dead in October, before she was known to be missing.
The sheriff’s department says on Dec. 6, the sheriff’s office in Wayne County, Utah, was contacted by a man and woman who said they were taking photos in a rural area off of State Route 24 when they found human remains. This is an area where Melodee and Ashlee Buzzard reportedly traveled in October.
The Santa Barbara County Sheriff was notified Dec. 8 that the remains had been found, and it was apparent that they were of a female who died from gunshot sounds to the head, authorities said.
Ashlee Buzzard was taken into custody following DNA results from the recovered remains, sources said.
The FBI crime lab made a DNA link between the remains found in Utah to the familiar DNA of Ashlee Buzzard.
An ATF examination of a spent shell casing found in the Buzzard home matched what was found on the scene, officials said. Live similar rounds were also found in Ashlee Buzzard’s car.
Ashlee Buzzard has been booked into the Santa Barbara County Jail for first-degree murder on no bail status. She does not have a court date set.
The investigation into Melodee’s disappearance was sparked on Oct. 14 when a school district administrator reported her “extended absence” to authorities, the sheriff’s office said.
Authorities determined Melodee and Ashlee Buzzard left their Lompoc, California, home on Oct. 7 for a three-day road trip that took them to the Nebraska area, the sheriff’s office said.
Melodee was last seen alive on Oct. 9 near the Colorado-Utah border, according to authorities.
Ashlee Buzzard returned home to Lompoc on Oct. 10 with the car she and Melodee had rented on Oct. 7 — but Melodee was not with her, the sheriff’s office said.
Authorities have claimed Ashlee Buzzard wore wigs and swapped license plates during the trip, and they said Ashlee Buzzard didn’t cooperate with the search for Melodee.
This is a developing story. This article will continue to be updated as more information becomes available.
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