The mother of missing nine-year-old Melodee Buzzard has been arrested outside her home in California.
Ashlee Buzzard was taken into custody Friday afternoon at her residence in Lompoc, about 50 miles from Santa Barbara.
Buzzard, 40, shared the home with Melodee, who was reported missing by school officials on October 14 after repeatedly failing to attend classes.
Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s deputies said Buzzard was arrested on a felony false-imprisonment charge and booked at Northern Branch Jail on $100,000 bail. The charge is unrelated to Melodee’s disappearance.
Buzzard has declined to cooperate with investigators and has not explained where her daughter might be. The FBI said Friday that the search for Melodee remains ongoing.
Lizabeth Meza, Melodee’s aunt, said Ashlee’s arrest had left her with mixed feelings.
‘I don’t fully understand why they arrested her for false imprisonment, and since the FBI took over the case, detectives have kept information very close,’ Meza told Our News Outlet on Friday.
‘Ashlee may be the only person who knows what happened, and she is the missing piece of this puzzle. Will she talk now? We hope she will so she can tell them where Melodee is.’
‘I want her to know that if someone is hurting her or Melodee, she is not alone. We want to get help for both of them. We just want Melodee home.’
Ashlee Buzzard was arrested Friday afternoon outside her home in Lompoc, about 50 miles from Santa Barbara
Melodee Buzzard, nine, was reported missing by school officials on October 14 after repeatedly missing classes
Private investigator Bill Garcia, hired by Melodee’s family, said authorities recently removed several possible pieces of evidence from the home.
Sheriff’s deputies and FBI agents searched the family’s property in the 500 block of Mars Avenue in Lompoc last week after obtaining a warrant.
Buzzard was not at the property as investigators searched the house and garage for hours into the evening. They removed several items, including sections of drywall and carpeting, that could be important to the investigation.
Garcia said investigators also took a piece of concrete from the garage.
The Daily Mail has contacted the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI for comment.
Earlier this week, sheriff’s investigators released additional details about the possible route Buzzard and Melodee took after leaving their Lompoc home. The pair reportedly traveled more than 1,500 miles to Nebraska in a rented white Chevrolet Malibu on October 7.
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Detectives believe they began the return journey the following day. The Malibu was later seen displaying a New York license plate that authorities said belonged neither to the rental car nor to Buzzard.
Investigators now believe the Malibu passed through several small towns on October 9, including Green River and Panguitch in Utah, northwest Arizona, Primm in Nevada and Rancho Cucamonga in California.
Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s officials released images of Ashlee Buzzard and her daughter Melodee highlighting their journey from Lompoc, California, to Nebraska. Investigators said the pair traveled through Utah, Arizona and Nevada on October 9
Sheriff’s officials said Melodee was wearing a wig that was straighter and darker than her natural hair in this surveillance image recorded at a car-rental business on October 7
Garcia said sources had told him Buzzard has connections in Iowa, although detectives have not said the mother and daughter traveled that far into the Midwest.
He also said Buzzard was seen at a gas station in Santa Paula, California, without Melodee.
On October 27, Garcia approached Buzzard after a medical transportation vehicle dropped her off at her Lompoc home.
Video obtained by Our News Outlet shows Garcia walking toward Buzzard as she calmly made her way to the front door.
The 40-year-old was wearing black pants and a fitted black jacket, along with the same long, curly wig she reportedly wore while traveling with Melodee. The clothing and wig were identified in surveillance images released by sheriff’s officials.
The footage also showed Melodee wearing a wig.
Meza previously told Our News Outlet that Buzzard had kept Melodee largely isolated, including homeschooling her for at least a year.
According to Meza, Buzzard had previously lost custody of Melodee amid mental-health struggles and allegedly acknowledged that psychological problems affected members of her family.
The Daily Mail reported last week that a Google Maps image from May 2023 showed Melodee looking toward the street while standing in the doorway of her home
Buzzard had also previously filed for bankruptcy after accumulating $23,000 in debt.
‘There were so many obstacles and so much happening within the family,’ Meza said through tears.
‘It breaks my heart that everything happening at the time prevented us from staying in contact with Melodee. No one had a relationship with her.’
‘The system failed her by returning her to a mother who was unstable, time and time again. I have so many emotions whenever I think about that little girl.’
