Urgent Search: Police Seek Public's Help in Locating Missing Person Melodee Buzzard

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The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office has issued a critical update regarding the search for 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard. Officials have confirmed that Melodee was last seen with her mother, Ashlee Buzzard, on October 7.

Authorities believe Ashlee Buzzard may have traveled with Melodee in a white Chevrolet Malibu, potentially reaching as far as Nebraska. This car, however, was a rental and is no longer in her possession.

Concerns arose when Melodee was reported missing last Tuesday, as she hadn’t picked up her school assignments for several weeks. The FBI has since joined the investigation, starting Sunday night.

Meanwhile, authorities continue their search for a missing 67-year-old who was last seen walking home in Wisconsin.

Upon visiting Melodee’s residence in Lompoc, California—located approximately 60 miles from Santa Barbara—investigators found Ashlee Buzzard but no trace of Melodee.

“As the investigation progresses, Ashlee Buzzard has been uncooperative, offering no information about Melodee’s whereabouts or condition,” authorities stated in their latest update.

Melodee’s family wasn’t allowed to see her

Melodee’s father died in a 2016 motorcycle accident shortly after she was born, and his relatives say that her mother hasn’t allowed them to see Melodee for around 4 1/2 years.

“I am horrified for my little niece, I can’t imagine what she’s gone through,” Melodee’s aunt Vicky Shade told The Los Angeles Times.

Shade also described Buzzard as “mentally unstable” and explained that Melodee’s grandmother “tried to get custody or at least grandparent rights to visit Melodee because she [Ashlee] wasn’t letting our side of the family see her.”

Investigators ask public not to intervene

The case has elicited a high level of interest, and detectives are asking the public to refrain from conducting “their own searches or investigations,” the update states.

“While well-intentioned, these efforts could unintentionally interfere with investigative work already in progress,” it read.

Anyone with information on Melodee’s whereabouts can contact authorities at (805) 681-4150. Tips can be submitted through the tip line at (805) 681-4171 or online at

‘s Steph Whiteside contributed to this report