Body of missing CA girl Melodee Buzzard reportedly found as mother is arrested
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Sheriff’s Office arrested the child’s mother after deputies reportedly found a body.
- Investigators traced travel to Oct. 7–10 across multiple states using surveillance.
- FBI joined local detectives; community held vigils and pressed for answers.
The mother of a missing 9-year-old Lompoc Valley girl has been arrested and Melodee Buzzard’s body has apparently been found as the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office prepares to share “major developments” Tuesday about the missing-person investigation.
Ashlee Buzzard, 40, was led away in handcuffs Tuesday morning from her residence on the 500 block of Mars Avenue in Vandenberg Village, KSBY reported.
She was booked at the Santa Barbara County Southern Branch Jail.
Lilly Denes, Melodee’s paternal grandmother, told News Channel 12 that law enforcement officers had notified her that the girl’s body had been found.
Mid-morning, the Sheriff’s Office announced a press conference for Tuesday afternoon in Goleta.
No additional details have been released.
Authorities have been searching for Buzzard’s daughter since Oct. 14, when educators asked deputies to conduct a welfare check on the girl, who had not been seen recently.
In August, Melodee was first enrolled in the Lompoc Unified School District, when she and her mother went to Mission Valley Independent Study School to register her.
However, they didn’t pick up assignments, which led to a referral back to their school of residence, where officials contacted the family to complete enrollment.
When the girl didn’t start attending classes, the school launched mandatory truancy procedures, including phone calls, letters, emails and home visits, leading to the visit to the home.
Ashlee Buzzard has remained “uncooperative” during the investigation, authorities said.
Detectives narrowed the critical time frame for Melodee’s whereabouts to Oct. 7-10, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Investigators have confirmed that Ashlee Buzzard was seen returning to the residence on Oct. 10, driving the same rental vehicle she departed with on Oct. 7, but Melodee was not in the car.
Detectives say Buzzard and her daughter went on a four-day road trip from Lompoc to the Nebraska area, with the return trip including the state of Kansas.
After initially releasing photos of a young Melodee, detectives later provided images from surveillance video at the car rental business.
Deputies said Buzzard apparently switched license plates on the rental car and the mother and daughter swapped wigs to avoid recognition during the trip.
Detectives have confirmed that Melodee was last seen on Oct. 9, on video surveillance in the region between the Colorado–Utah border.
They believe the rented Chevy Malibu traveled on Oct. 9 through or near Green River, Utah; Panguitch, Utah; northwest Arizona; Primm, Nevada, and Rancho Cucamonga in San Bernardino County.
The FBI later joined the investigation, and searched the residence with sheriff’s deputies.
In November, deputies arrested Buzzard for a false imprisonment charge not directly related to her daughter’s disappearance.
However, during a preliminary hearing, a judge decided the case lacked evidence for Buzzard to continue to face the charge.
The girl’s father, Rolando Rubiell “Pinoy”Meza, 40, died in an August 2016 motorcycle crash in Santa Maria, and his family said Ashlee Buzzard kept the girl away from them in recent years
The case has drawn attention beyond the Lompoc Valley and led to prayer vigils in the quiet neighborhood and demands for Buzzard to provide information about the missing girl’s whereabouts.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com.
This story was originally published December 23, 2025 at 11:45 AM with the headline "Body of missing CA girl Melodee Buzzard reportedly found as mother is arrested."