A California mother, previously charged with using a box cutter to unlawfully confine a man, saw her felony charge dropped on Thursday. This development comes as authorities continue the search for her missing 9-year-old daughter, Melodee Buzzard.
Ashlee Buzzard appeared in a Santa Barbara County court regarding a felony charge of false imprisonment related to an incident alleged to have occurred on November 6. During a preliminary hearing, Tyler Stuart Brewer, who claimed Buzzard trapped him inside her home in Lompoc during a heated dispute, was called to testify by prosecutors.
A felony complaint, lodged on November 10 in Santa Barbara County Superior Court, accused Buzzard of unlawfully depriving Brewer of his personal freedom “by violence, menace, fraud, and deceit.”
The complaint also highlighted an aggravating factor, asserting that the act was executed with “planning, sophistication, or professionalism.”
During testimony on Thursday, video evidence was shown to the judge, featuring a transcript where a voice states, “I’m not threatening you, but I’m saying, like I’m not threatening you at all.” (Bryan M. Allman/Fox News)
Brewer, working as a legal document assistant and freelance paralegal, testified that he had met Buzzard through a mutual contact years ago and reconnected this fall after learning about her daughter’s disappearance. He reported visiting Buzzard’s residence five times between November 1 and November 6 and said they exchanged numerous text messages during that period.
On Nov. 6, Brewer said Buzzard locked multiple deadbolts after he entered and appeared “agitated and tense.” He testified that she sat across from him with a box cutter visible on a nearby tray. When he said he was uncomfortable and wanted to leave, he claimed she blocked the doorway and locked the front door, using an added locking device between the door and frame. Prosecutors entered photos of the locks and brace into evidence.
The prosecution also played a six-minute clip from a one-hour, 16-minute recording that Buzzard had made of their conversation. In it, Buzzard accused Brewer of lying and of seeking media attention, while Brewer could be heard asking to leave twice. Brewer said he felt “threatened and uncomfortable,” describing Buzzard as clenching her fists and gritting her teeth.
After Brewer’s testimony, Det. Thomas Brownlee with the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office took the stand. The court then dismissed the felony charge for insufficient evidence and ended Buzzard’s pretrial supervision, according to the prosecution. She is also no longer required to wear an ankle monitor.
Ashlee Buzzard sits with her attorney at the defense table during testimony in court Thursday. (Bryan M. Allman/Fox News)
Outside the courtroom, Melodee’s grandmother, Lisa (Lilly) Denes, was expected to address reporters. Denes has been outspoken since her granddaughter vanished, telling Fox News Digital previously that she noticed a chilling pattern of control in the months before Melodee disappeared.
Denes said Buzzard had “plotted to cut her daughter off from the entire world,” limiting contact with family and isolating the child from friends and school. Denes told Fox News Digital she had repeatedly begged for welfare checks and feared Buzzard was “running from everyone who could protect Melodee.”
Ashlee Buzzard listens beside her attorney during a court proceeding Thursday as evidence is presented to the judge. (Bryan M. Allman/Fox News)
Officials began investigating Melodee’s disappearance Oct. 14 after a school official reported her prolonged absence. When questioned, deputies said Buzzard failed to provide a verifiable explanation for her daughter’s location and has “remained uncooperative and has not confirmed Melodee’s welfare.”
Authorities say Melodee disappeared sometime in early October during a road trip with her mother. Surveillance video released by the sheriff’s office shows Buzzard and Melodee at a Lompoc rental car counter Oct. 7, both wearing wigs.
Authorities believe the disguise was intended to avoid recognition while traveling and that the vehicle’s license plate was swapped during the trip, which stretched across several states.
The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office released a surveillance image, left, of Ashlee and Melodee Buzzard that it says was captured at a rental car location in Lompoc, California, at the start of the road trip Oct. 7, 2025. (Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office/FBI)
Melodee was last seen near the Utah–Colorado border, and her mother later returned to California without her. The FBI has joined the search, working with Santa Barbara County investigators to retrace the route and track any sightings of the missing child.
Private investigator Bill Garcia, who is working with Criminally Obsessed, told ARC Salt Lake that new information places Melodee back in Ventura County, California, near her home, according to KUTV. However, there have been no confirmed sightings of her in the area, and her safety remains unknown.
Garcia noted that the route Buzzard traveled passes a significant landmark, Melodee’s father’s gravesite at the Santa Maria Cemetery, which investigators say could help narrow down the timeline of their movements.
Officials stressed that Thursday’s dismissed case is not connected to Melodee’s disappearance. Anyone with information about the girl’s whereabouts is urged to contact the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office or the FBI tip line.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office and Buzzard’s lawyer for comment.
Stepheny Price covers crime, including missing persons, homicides and migrant crime. Send story tips to stepheny.price@fox.com.
