New details have emerged in the ongoing search for Melodee Buzzard, a missing 9-year-old Lompoc girl who authorities now say was seen as recently as Oct. 7 and may have been driven to Nebraska by her mother.
Melodee’s mother, Ashlee Buzzard, refuses to cooperate with authorities or answer questions about her daughter’s location or condition, according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office. Family members on the girl’s father’s side say they haven’t seen her in years.
When Melodee was first reported missing by school authorities last Tuesday, the Sheriff’s Office could not confirm any sightings of the girl within the last year. Since then, detectives, with assistance from the FBI, have narrowed the window considerably.
People have put up a poster asking “Where is Melodee” outside the Vandenberg Village home where the missing girl’s mother, Ashlee Buzzard, lives. Melodee hasn’t been seen since Oct. 7 and her mother is refusing to cooperate with law enforcement.
(Lizabeth Meza)
“Detectives have gathered evidence indicating that Melodee was with her mother, Ashlee Buzzard, as recently as October 7, 2025,” the Sheriff’s Office said in a Monday morning update. “Detectives have also determined that Ashlee may have driven with Melodee in a White Chevrolet Malibu to locations outside of Santa Barbara County to include as far as the state of Nebraska.”
The Times has not been able to reach Buzzard for comment.
The vehicle, with license plate number 9MNG101, was a rental car and is no longer in Buzzard’s possession, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Last Tuesday, detectives made contact with the mother at her home in Vandenberg Village, but Melodee was nowhere to be seen.
Melodee’s relatives on her father’s side say the mother has refused to let family members visit the child. They haven’t seen Melodee for about four and a half years and the most recent photo authorities have of the girl is two years old.
Melodee’s father, Rubiell Meza, died in a motorcycle accident in 2016 shortly after the girl was born. Buzzard then moved away from Santa Maria, where she had been living with Meza and his mother, according to one of Melodee’s aunts, Vicky Shade.
Melodee’s family on her father’s side say her mother, Ashlee Buzzard, has not let them see the girl in around four and a half years.
(Lizabeth Meza)
“She just kept [Melodee] away from us and then she up and moved,” said Shade. “She wouldn’t let us see her.”
In August, Buzzard took Melodee to the Lompoc Unified School District to enroll her in an independent study program, according to a district statement. After Melodee failed to pick up classroom assignments for several weeks, the district reached out to her mother and then to law enforcement, which triggered the search for the girl.
On Sunday, the FBI announced on X that it is assisting the Sheriff’s Office with the search for Melodee.
Lizabeth Meza, another aunt of Melodee’s, said the announcement made her feel hopeful knowing that there were more teams searching for her niece.
The Meza family spent the weekend distributing fliers seeking help locating Melodee around Lompoc, Guadalupe and the Five Cities region of San Luis Obispo County.
“It’s been really hard not knowing anything about her whereabouts,” Shade said.
Signs saying “Where is Melodee?” have been posted around the mother’s Vandenberg Village home, where on Sunday afternoon several dozen community members gathered to pray for the girl and demand answers from her mother, according to local TV station KSBY.
The search for Melodee has generated significant community interest and outrage as well as internet sleuths with theories about what happened.
“Detectives are aware of the strong community interest in Melodee’s case and are asking the public not to attempt to conduct their own searches or investigations,” the Sheriff’s Office said in Monday’s statement. “While well-intentioned, these efforts could unintentionally interfere with investigative work already in progress.”
The most recent photos of Melody Buzzard, now 9, are two or more years old.
(Lizabeth Meza)
Anyone with information about Melodee or anyone who has had contact with Ashlee Buzzard since Oct. 7 is asked to contact the Sheriff’s Office at (805) 681-4150. Tips can also be left anonymously at (805) 681-4171 or at SBSheriff.org.
Ashlee Buzzard was seen by KSBY entering her home as recently as Thursday and neighbors told the TV station that she is still still living at the house. Court records show that she filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection in 2017 and has multiple debt collections cases pending against her.
Prior to Melodee being signed up for the independent learning program in August, detectives believe the girl was homeschooled for several years, according to Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Raquel Zick. However, the California Department of Education has no record of Buzzard filing a private school affidavit, which is required for homeschooling, according to department spokesperson Scott Roark.