Family members are desperately searching for Melodee Buzzard, a 9-year-old girl who was last seen in Lompoc in August and whose mother refuses to answer questions about her whereabouts.<\/p>\n
Melodee was officially reported missing Tuesday after officials at the Lompoc Unified School District contacted the Santa Barbara County Sheriff\u2019s Office to report her prolonged absence, according to authorities. <\/p>\n
The girl had enrolled in an independent learning program in August, the school district said in a statement, and sheriff\u2019s officials say she has not been seen since. <\/p>\n
Sheriff\u2019s deputies went to the girl\u2019s home in Vandenberg Village on Tuesday. Inside they made contact with Ashlee Buzzard, Melodee\u2019s mother, but the girl was nowhere to be seen, according to authorities. Her mother remains uncooperative with the investigation.<\/p>\n
Vicky Shade, Melodee\u2019s aunt, said that the girl\u2019s mother has a long history of mental illness and refused to let relatives visit the girl. <\/p>\n
\u201cAshlee is mentally unstable and my mom tried to get custody or at least grandparent rights to visit Melodee because she [Ashlee] wasn\u2019t letting our side of the family see her,\u201d Shade said.<\/p>\n
Shade\u2019s brother, Rubiell Meza, is Ashlee\u2019s father. He died<\/a> in a motorcycle accident<\/a> in 2016, shortly after Melodee was born. <\/p>\n Buzzard and Rubiell Meza previously lived in Santa Maria with Meza\u2019s mother. However, Buzzard moved away shortly after Meza died and changed her phone number, Shade said.<\/p>\n \u201cI am horrified for my little niece, I can\u2019t imagine what she\u2019s gone through,\u201d Shade said. \u201cThis does not sound good. I just want to know if she\u2019s OK. We need to find her.\u201d<\/p>\n The most recent photo available of Melodee is 2 years old, according to the Sheriff\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n Another one of Melodee\u2019s aunts, Lizabeth Meza, said that Buzzard had struggled with mental illness for years. She said Buzzard has attempted to take her own life multiple times and was previously hospitalized for treatment.<\/p>\n Meza\u2019s family has not been able to see Melodee in around four and a half years, she said.<\/p>\n They are currently focused on putting up missing child posters around Lompoc and sharing Melodee\u2019s story on social media in hopes of generating leads about the girl\u2019s whereabouts. <\/p>\n