The search continues for a nine-year-old girl from California, Melodee Buzzard, who vanished while on a road trip with her mother. Authorities have disclosed that the rental car they were traveling in had its license plates switched, presumably to evade detection.

Melodee, from Lompoc, California, has been missing since October 9, 2025. According to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office, she was last seen on surveillance footage in the region spanning the Colorado-Utah border. Her mother, 35-year-old Ashlee Buzzard, has not been forthcoming with information about her daughter’s whereabouts or condition.

Investigators determined that Ashlee departed from California with Melodee on October 7, 2025, in a white 2024 Chevrolet Malibu, originally equipped with California license plate 9MNG101. They suspect the pair traveled as far as Nebraska, with their path back including Kansas, as per the sheriff’s office.

By October 8, 2025, the Malibu was spotted with a New York license plate, HCG9677. Authorities are uncertain when this plate was affixed or if other plates were utilized during their travels. The New York plate does not correspond to the vehicle or Ashlee, leading investigators to believe it was a deliberate attempt to avoid detection. When the vehicle was eventually returned to the rental agency in Lompoc, it bore its original California plate.

The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office has released a new surveillance image showing Ashlee and Melodee Buzzard at a rental car location in Lompoc, California, taken at the commencement of their journey on October 7, 2025. (Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office/FBI)

Investigators believe the rental vehicle traveled through Green River and Panguitch in Utah, northwest Arizona, Primm in Nevada and Rancho Cucamonga in California on or around Oct. 9.

“Detectives are seeking anyone who may have had contact with Ashlee or Melodee at any point from October 9-10, 2025, or any video footage from their route of travel,” the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office said.

The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office released an image of Melodee Buzzard “captured at a local car rental business” on Oct. 7, 2025. (Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office )

The sheriff’s office said investigators are sharing additional surveillance images of Ashlee and Melodee that were captured at a rental car location in Lompoc at the start of their road trip on Oct. 7.

“Both Ashlee and Melodee appear to be wearing wigs with Melodee’s appearing darker and straighter than her natural hair,” the sheriff’s office said.

The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office previously said its investigation into the disappearance of Melodee Buzzard began on Oct. 14 after a school administrator reported her extended absence. Deputies then responded to her home in Lompoc and encountered her mother, Ashlee, but “Melodee was not at the home, and no verifiable explanation for her whereabouts was provided,” according to the office.

The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office said a surveillance image showed Melodee Buzzard “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)

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 FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office is assisting in the search.