The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office in California has unveiled surveillance footage revealing a new angle in the search for missing Melodee Buzzard. Captured in the video are Melodee and her mother, Ashlee Buzzard, both donning wigs, as they visited a car rental outlet in Lompoc.
According to earlier reports from CrimeOnline, Ashlee Buzzard rented a white 2024 Chevrolet Malibu, bearing the California license plate 9MNG101. She embarked on a journey on October 7, potentially traveling through Kansas and Nebraska.
The security footage, taken on the day of the car rental, clearly shows Ashlee and her 9-year-old daughter Melodee wearing wigs. Investigators suspect the wigs were intended to disguise Melodee’s identity. It is also noted that Ashlee frequently uses wigs to change her appearance.
On Thursday, the sheriff’s office revealed that Ashlee was seen wearing a different, darker wig during the cross-country trip. This alteration was part of a series of changes in appearance throughout their journey.
The sheriff’s office stated, “The footage aligns with previously released still images, showing both Ashlee and Melodee in wigs. Investigators believe Ashlee altered her appearance by switching to a darker wig, similar in color and style to Melodee’s.”
‘The footage corresponds to previously released still images and shows both Ashlee and Melodee wearing wigs. Investigators also believe that Ashlee swapped wigs throughout the trip, changing to a darker wig that is similar in color and style to the one Melodee was seen wearing,” SBCSO said Thursday.
“This change in appearance is believed to have been intentional to avoid recognition during travel.”
According to the sheriff’s office, Melodee was last seen on October 9, between the Colorado–Utah border, on a return route.
“Somewhere along that route is where we know Ashlee was no longer with Melodee,” Raquel Zick, Public Information Officer with SBCSO, said.
On October 9, FBI agents 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.
“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.”
A store owner at the Bear Valley Country Store and Sinclair Gas Station told me the FBI stopped at her store on October 25th asking for store footage and stating they believe missing child Melodee Buzzard and her mom to have crossed the SR-20 US-89 intersection near Panguitch. pic.twitter.com/ksYxY1IeTa
— Samantha Hoffman (@samhoffmannews) November 5, 2025
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.
Police believe Ashlee Buzzard drove through the following locations before returning home to Lompoc without Melodee:
- Green River, Utah
- Panguitch, Utah
- Northwest Arizona
- Primm, Nevada
- Rancho Cucamonga, California
Authorities are now asking businesses and residents and in the aforementioned areas to look at surveillance footage from October 9 and 10.
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]
