On Friday, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office unveiled new images capturing a young girl, believed to be the missing 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard, disguised with a wig at a car rental agency before she and her mother left the state.

These surveillance photos represent the first fresh visuals of Melodee in over two years, providing crucial insights into the sequence of events leading up to her designation as an at-risk missing person by authorities.

The Sheriff’s Office revealed that on October 7, Melodee and her mother, Ashlee Buzzard, rented a vehicle and embarked on a journey across the country. This occurred a week before school officials flagged Melodee’s “prolonged absence,” prompting her missing person report.