On Friday, California authorities unveiled new surveillance footage in the ongoing search for a missing 9-year-old girl, whom the FBI believes may have been on a multi-state road trip with her mother, extending as far as Nebraska, before she disappeared.
The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office initiated an investigation into the disappearance of Melodee Buzzard on October 14, after a school official flagged her prolonged absence. When deputies visited her home in Lompoc, they encountered her 35-year-old mother, Ashlee Buzzard. However, Melodee was not present, and no credible explanation for her location was given.
“Detectives are releasing surveillance photos of Melodee taken at a local car rental agency on October 7,” the sheriff’s office announced in an update on Friday. “In the images, Melodee is seen in a hooded sweatshirt with the hood up, and she appears to be wearing a wig that is darker and straighter than her natural hair.” The office suspects the wig might have been used to alter her appearance, noting that Ashlee is known to wear wigs herself.
Investigators have pinpointed the crucial timeline between October 7 and October 10, 2025. They confirmed Ashlee returned to her Lompoc home on October 10 in the same rental car she left with on October 7, but Melodee was not in the vehicle.
According to the FBI, Melodee Buzzard is depicted in a photo taken in 2023. (FBI)
“The investigation suggests that this road trip spanned from Lompoc to Nebraska, with the return journey passing through Kansas,” the sheriff’s office added. “Detectives are now concentrating on uncovering Melodee’s location during those three days and determining her current whereabouts.”
Melodee Buzzard is described by police as being around 4 feet, 6 inches tall and weighing approximately 60 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes.
The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office said Melodee Buzzard was wearing a hooded sweatshirt with the hood pulled up and “what appears to be a wig that is darker and straighter than her natural hair.” (Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office)
“Our detectives are following every lead in this case. We continue to seek information from the public that could help us find Melodee,” Santa Barbara Sheriff Bill Brown said in a statement. “We remain determined to bring her home safely.”
The FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office is assisting in the search.
“The investigation indicates that Melodee was with her mother as recently as October 7, 2025. It has also been determined that Ashlee may have driven with Melodee in a White Chevrolet Malibu (Lic #9MNG101) to locations outside of Santa Barbara County, California, to include as far as the state of Nebraska,” the agency said. “The vehicle was determined to be a rental car and is no longer in Ashlee’s possession.”
The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office released a new image of Melodee Buzzard “captured at a local car rental business” on Oct. 7, 2025. (Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office )
The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office said Melodee remains an “at risk-missing person,” while her mother has been “uncooperative with investigators.”
