It’s been a month since Ashlee Buzzard packed her 9-year-old daughter Melodee into a rental automobile and left their house state of California – solely to return three days later with no baby and loads of unanswered questions in tow, authorities say.
As investigators search for Melodee, they are saying their probe has uncovered a collection of wigged disguises, a sprawling multistate highway journey, and an “uncooperative” mom who has supplied “no verifiable explanation” of her daughter’s whereabouts.
The case took an sudden activate Friday when Buzzard, 40, was arrested on a cost of false imprisonment – however not for the disappearance of her daughter. “This crime is not connected to the ongoing search for Melodee, however, detectives are unable to fully outline the crime as it would impede their ongoing investigation,” the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office stated.
Here’s what we all know in regards to the case – and the various questions that also stay.
Melodee’s disappearance was reported on October 14, not by her household however by faculty directors who seen she had not been taking part within the distant examine program her mom had not too long ago enrolled her in.
School district officers within the baby’s hometown of Lompoc say Melodee was enrolled in August in an unbiased examine program, which permits college students to be taught from house. That was the last month she was seen by the college, the sheriff’s workplace has stated.
It shouldn’t be clear whether or not the college final noticed Melodee just about or in particular person, however the sheriff’s workplace stated an administrator contacted police for a welfare verify after her “prolonged absence.”
The faculty’s August sighting helped slim detectives’ timeline at first of the investigation, when authorities had been working with outdated childhood photographs and members of the family who stated they’d not seen Melodee for years.
In an interview with NewsNation final month, Melodee’s aunt, Lizabeth Meza, stated she had not seen her niece in 4 years. The aunt stated their prolonged household largely misplaced contact with the kid after her father died in a motorbike accident when she was a child.
When Melodee’s faculty requested for a welfare verify on October 14, officers arrived at her mom’s house however solely discovered Buzzard, who “provided no verifiable explanation for Melodee’s whereabouts,” the sheriff’s workplace stated.
Officers searched the house, however Melodee was nowhere to be discovered.
The sheriff’s office stated this week Buzzard “has remained uncooperative and has not confirmed Melodee’s location or welfare.”
NCS has been unable to determine an lawyer for Buzzard.
Detectives have narrowed their investigation to a small however very eventful three-day window from October 7-10, through which they imagine the mom drove Melodee greater than 1,000 miles away – so far as Nebraska – crossing a minimum of six states and buying and selling license plates and disguises as they went.
At the top of the three-day journey, Buzzard returned house with the rental automobile, this time with out Melodee.
The final time Melodee was seen was on October 9 in an space across the Colorado and Utah state line. Here’s what investigators say happened on their journey:
-
On October 7, Buzzard left California with Melodee, driving a rented white 2024 Chevrolet Malibu. That day, the pair was captured on the rental company’s surveillance digital camera showing to be carrying wigs.
-
The car’s journey route spanned so far as Nebraska, and the return route detoured into Kansas. It is unclear when the automobile started to move again west.
-
During the journey, the license plate on the Malibu, which was initially a California plate (9MNG101), seems to alter. The automobile is seen with a New York license plate (HCG9677) starting October 8. “The plate does not belong to the vehicle or Buzzard and is believed to have been used as a false or switched plate to avoid detection,” the sheriff’s workplace stated.
-
On October 9, detectives imagine the Chevy Malibu traveled by means of cities in a minimum of 4 states, together with: Green River, Utah; Panguitch, Utah; Northwest Arizona; Primm, Nevada; Rancho Cucamonga, California.
-
October 9 is the final time Melodee is seen. Surveillance footage captured her in an space close to the Colorado–Utah state line on the return journey.
-
On October 10, the Malibu is returned to the Lompoc rental company with its authentic California plates.
Finding Melodee now hinges on detectives unearthing what occurred to the lady after she was final seen on October 9.
The sheriff’s workplace launched a travel-route map of the place they imagine the mom and daughter traveled between October 9 and 10, and is asking companies, fuel stations, motels, relaxation stops and residents alongside the path to overview surveillance digital camera footage which will catch a glimpse of the kid.
Anyone who got here throughout the mom and daughter could not acknowledge them in some publicly launched footage, as authorities imagine Buzzard could have taken steps to hide their identities, together with tucking her daughter’s ringlet curls beneath a clean wig.
Surveillance footage from the rental automobile enterprise in Lompoc on October 7 confirmed Buzzard and Melodee in what seemed to be wigs, the sheriff’s workplace stated in a launch that shared a clip of the video.
Over the following three days, authorities say Buzzard appeared to swap wigs, buying and selling pretend, honey blonde curls for a darker wig nearer to the model Melodee was seen in.
“This change in appearance is believed to have been intentional to avoid recognition during travel,” the discharge stated.
Melodee’s grandmother, Lilly Denes, informed NCS affiliate KSBY that when she first noticed the surveillance pictures, she was overwhelmed.
“I was totally numb and in shock. … This is just so shocking to me in that my granddaughter is dressed in a disguise,” Denes informed the affiliate.
“If she’s listening, we love you. We’re here for you, and we just want you to be happy,” the grandmother stated. “Call me. There are numbers on the TV that you can call, and I will come pick you up.”
In a sudden flip of occasions on Friday, the sheriff’s workplace announced whereas they had been investigating Melodee’s disappearance, they discovered her mom had not too long ago “prevented a victim from leaving a location against their will.”
“Although this arrest occurred during the course of the missing person investigation, it is not directly related to Melodee’s disappearance,” the sheriff’s workplace stated.
Buzzard was arrested Friday on a cost of false imprisonment, a felony cost, and investigators have been reluctant to supply particulars in regards to the incident whereas they search for Melodee.
Buzzard will likely be booked at a Santa Barbara County jail with bail set at $100,000, officers stated.
The arrest comes about a week after the FBI served search warrants at Buzzard’s house and a storage locker, in addition to the rental automobile Melodee was final seen in.
But the sheriff’s workplace declined to supply the id of the sufferer of the alleged false imprisonment.
“Sheriff’s detectives remain fully focused on locating Melodee and confirming her safety,” the Friday launch stated.
Anyone who has seen Melodee or could have details about her whereabouts is inspired to name the sheriff’s workplace or depart an anonymous tip.