As detectives in Santa Barbara County continued to look for a missing, at-risk girl, they believe the girl and her mother wore wigs during their out-of-state trip to disguise themselves.
Investigators previously said before 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard was reported missing by a school administrator in October, the girl and her mother, Ashlee, traveled as far as Nebraka in a rental car.
As the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office released additional information and video footage to the public, it said the mother and daughter both wore wigs, often swapping wigs throughout the trip.
“This change in appearance is believed to have been intentional to avoid recognition during travel,” the sheriff’s department said in a statement Thursday.
And Ashlee Buzzard, according to investigators, switched the California license plate of the rented white 2024 Chevrolet Malibu with a false license plate from New York to avoid detection. When the rental was returned to Lompoc, its original California plate was intact, the sheriff’s department said.
The mother and daughter traveled through Green River and Panguitch in Utah as well as Rancho Cucamonga and Primm, Nevada before reaching Nebraska.
The sheriff’s department released the map of their travel route to seek help from businesses, gas stations and rest stops to review surveillance video footage between Oct. 9 and Oct. 10.
Credit: Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office
Last week, investigators searched their Lompoc home as they also looked through a storage locker and the rental car in which Melodee was last seen.
Melodee Buzzard was last seen with her mother, Ashlee Buzzard, as recently as Oct. 7, according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department. The search began on Oct. 14 when a school administrator reported that Melodee had been absent for a long time.
Investigators have said Ashlee Buzzard was uncooperative with the investigation.
Detectives asked anyone who has seen Melodee or has information about the case to contact the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department at 805-681-4150. Anonymous tips can be provided at 805-681-4171 or submitted here.