Police Report: Melodee Buzzard Missing Since Early October

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The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office has released a significant update regarding the investigation into the disappearance of 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard. According to the latest findings, Melodee was last seen with her mother, Ashlee Buzzard, on October 7.

Authorities have gathered evidence suggesting that Ashlee Buzzard may have traveled with Melodee in a rented white Chevrolet Malibu. This vehicle was reportedly driven to locations beyond Santa Barbara County, potentially reaching as far as Nebraska. It has been noted that Ashlee no longer has possession of this rental car.

The alarm over Melodee’s disappearance was raised last Tuesday when it was discovered that she had not collected her school assignments for several weeks. In response to the escalating concern, the FBI joined the investigation on Sunday night to assist local authorities in their efforts to locate the missing child.

Initially, investigators visited Melodee’s residence in Lompoc, California, situated approximately 60 miles north of Santa Barbara. While they encountered her mother there, Melodee herself was not found, intensifying the urgency of the search.

“At this point in the investigation, Ashlee Buzzard remains uncooperative and has not provided detectives with any information about Melodee’s current location or condition,” authorities said in the update.

Before the Oct. 7 sighting, the last confirmed contact with Melodee was in August of 2025, when she and her mother went to the Lompoc Unified School District to register her for an independent study program.

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