The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office has reported a recent development in the search for 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard, who went missing in California. The young girl was last seen in a small town in Utah last month.
Authorities revealed that Melodee was sighted on October 9 near the Colorado–Utah border. This occurred during the return leg of a trip initiated by her mother, Ashlee Buzzard, who had rented a car in California for a cross-country journey.
“Somewhere along that route is where we know Ashlee was no longer with Melodee,” stated Raquel Zick, the Public Information Officer for the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office.
Zick confirmed that both Melodee and Ashlee were observed together on October 9 on the Colorado side of the border, indicating it was during their return journey.
The Sheriff’s Office noted that the pair made a stop in Green River, Utah, a small town that isn’t on the direct path back to California.
“We’re the oasis in the middle of nowhere. You’re coming from so far from either way,” said Rilee Pinneo, a resident of Green River, in an interview with KUTV.
“It’s just super suspicious — like why are you making her wear wigs, why are you wearing wigs, why are you changing your license plate — but then you come back and you’re not willing to talk about it or your daughter or anything.”
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Ashlee Buzzard rented a car in Lompoc and embarked on the trip on October 7, with possible stops in Kansas and Nebraska.
Security footage placed both Ashlee and Melodee Buzzard at the car rental business while wearing wigs that same day.
Investigators said they believe that the wig was used to alter Melodee’s appearance. They also noted that Ashlee Buzzard is known to wear wigs.
KMYU reports that Bear Valley Country Store and Gas Station store owner Audra Campbell said the FBI arrived at the store on October 25. Agents requested security footage, but the owner reportedly said footage is deleted after two weeks.
The gas station is situated just outside Panguitch, Utah, and investigators believe that Ashlee Buzzard crossed “intersection of State Route 20 and U.S. 89,” where the store is located.
Agents also stopped by the Junction Pit Stop and Phillips 66 gas station in Junction, Utah. Employee Samantha Matthews told them that she saw Ashlee in a curly blonde wig on October 9, at about 5 p.m.
The FBI then went to Stan’s Market in Circleville and the Junction Pit Stop and Phillips 66 gas station. Both stores also had deleted footage.
The FBI told the Junction Pit Stop they believe Ashlee Buzzard used cash on her route. The store said that is difficult to identify. pic.twitter.com/0Z2EPm09ru
— Samantha Hoffman (@samhoffmannews) November 6, 2025
“It was really weird,” Matthews said. “She just opened the door, poked her head in, and said, ‘Did you guys know you have a bunch of kittens out here?’ Then she immediately left.”
Matthews reportedly said that the wig-wearing woman was in a car with a woman with purple hair, who appeared to be in her late 20s to mid-30s.
“I kind of walked towards the door going, ‘what the crap was that?’ when they left and noticed that they had a California license plate,” she said.
“Through this whole process, we’ve been kind of honing down a timeline as well as a search area, which we now have down to one day and just these handful of states that we are trying to find where Melodee was,” Zick added.
The sheriff’s office previously said that the rental car, a white 2024 Chevrolet Malibu, initially had California license plate 9MNG101. On October 8, Ashlee Buzzard allegedly changed it to New York license plate HCG9677.
“It is unknown when the plate was installed or whether additional plates were used at other times during travel. The New York plate seen on the car does not belong to the vehicle or to Ashlee,” the sheriff’s office said.
Ashlee Buzzard arrived back at her Vandenberg Village home, in the 500 block of Mars Avenue on October 10. Melodee was not with her
She has remained uncooperative in the investigation.
The sheriff’s office, along with the FBI, previously carried out search warrants at Buzzard’s home, but Melodee remains unaccounted for.
Melodee is described as standing 4 feet, 6 inches tall, weighing 60 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes.
Anyone with information regarding Melodee’s whereabouts is asked to call Santa Barbara County investigators at 805-681-4150. Anonymous calls can be made to the tip line at 805-681-4171. Contact the FBI at 800-225-5324.
Anonymous tipsters can also share information online to the sheriff’s office.
Read additional coverage on Melodee Buzzard
[Feature Photo: Santa Barbara County police]
