Wig disguises, a swapped license plate and a 1,000-mile drive: Where the search for 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard stands

By Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN

(CNN) — It’s been a month since Ashlee Buzzard packed her 9-year-old daughter Melodee into a rental car and left their home state of California – only to return three days later with no child and plenty of unanswered questions in tow, authorities say.

As investigators search for Melodee, they say their probe has uncovered a series of wigged disguises, a sprawling multistate road trip, and an “uncooperative” mother who has provided “no verifiable explanation” of her daughter’s whereabouts.

The case took an unexpected turn on Friday when Buzzard, 40, was arrested on a charge of false imprisonment – but not for the disappearance of her daughter. “This crime is not connected to the ongoing search for Melodee, however, detectives are unable to fully outline the crime as it would impede their ongoing investigation,” the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office said.

Here’s what we know about the case – and the many questions that still remain.

A concerned school official noticed Melodee’s ‘prolonged absence’

Melodee’s disappearance was reported on October 14, not by her family but by school administrators who noticed she had not been participating in the remote study program her mother had recently enrolled her in.

School district officials in the child’s hometown of Lompoc say Melodee was enrolled in August in an independent study program, which allows students to learn from home. That was the last month she was seen by the school, the sheriff’s office has said.

It is not clear whether the school last saw Melodee virtually or in person, but the sheriff’s office said an administrator contacted police for a welfare check after her “prolonged absence.”

The school’s August sighting helped narrow detectives’ timeline at the beginning of the investigation, when authorities were working with outdated childhood photos and family members who said they had not seen Melodee for years.

In an interview with NewsNation last month, Melodee’s aunt, Lizabeth Meza, said she had not seen her niece in four years. The aunt said their extended family largely lost contact with the child after her father died in a motorcycle accident when she was a baby.

When Melodee’s school asked for a welfare check on October 14, officers arrived at her mother’s home but only found Buzzard, who “provided no verifiable explanation for Melodee’s whereabouts,” the sheriff’s office said.

Officers searched the home, but Melodee was nowhere to be found.

The sheriff’s office said this week Buzzard “has remained uncooperative and has not confirmed Melodee’s location or welfare.”

CNN has been unable to identify an attorney for Buzzard.

Melodee likely disappeared during a whirlwind multistate road trip

Detectives have narrowed their investigation to a small but very eventful three-day window from October 7-10, in which they believe the mother drove Melodee more than 1,000 miles away – as far as Nebraska – crossing at least six states and trading license plates and disguises as they went.

At the end of the three-day trip, Buzzard returned home with the rental car, this time without Melodee.

The last time Melodee was seen was on October 9 in an area around the Colorado and Utah state line. Here’s what investigators say happened on their trip:

• On October 7, Buzzard left California with Melodee, driving a rented white 2024 Chevrolet Malibu. That day, the pair was captured on the rental agency’s surveillance camera appearing to be wearing wigs.
• The vehicle’s travel route spanned as far as Nebraska, and the return route detoured into Kansas. It is unclear when the car began to head back west.
• During the journey, the license plate on the Malibu, which was originally a California plate (9MNG101), appears to change. The car is seen with a New York license plate (HCG9677) beginning October 8. “The plate does not belong to the vehicle or Buzzard and is believed to have been used as a false or switched plate to avoid detection,” the sheriff’s office said.
• On October 9, detectives believe the Chevy Malibu traveled through cities in at least four states, including: Green River, Utah; Panguitch, Utah; Northwest Arizona; Primm, Nevada; Rancho Cucamonga, California.
• October 9 is the last time Melodee is seen. Surveillance footage captured her in an area near the Colorado–Utah state line on the return trip.
• On October 10, the Malibu is returned to the Lompoc rental agency with its original California plates.

Finding Melodee now hinges on detectives unearthing what happened to the girl after she was last seen on October 9.

The sheriff’s office released a travel-route map of where they believe the mother and daughter traveled between October 9 and 10, and is asking businesses, gas stations, hotels, rest stops and residents along the route to review surveillance camera footage that may catch a glimpse of the child.

A series of wigs may have provided quick disguises, investigators say

Anyone who came across the mother and daughter may not recognize them in some publicly released pictures, as authorities believe Buzzard may have taken steps to conceal their identities, including tucking her daughter’s ringlet curls under a smooth wig.

Surveillance footage from the rental car business in Lompoc on October 7 showed Buzzard and Melodee in what appeared to be wigs, the sheriff’s office said in a release that shared a clip of the video.

Over the next three days, authorities say Buzzard appeared to swap wigs, trading fake, honey blonde curls for a darker wig closer to the style Melodee was seen in.

“This change in appearance is believed to have been intentional to avoid recognition during travel,” the release said.

Melodee’s grandmother, Lilly Denes, told CNN affiliate KSBY that when she first saw the surveillance images, she was overwhelmed.

“I was totally numb and in shock. … This is just so shocking to me in that my granddaughter is dressed in a disguise,” Denes told the affiliate.

“If she’s listening, we love you. We’re here for you, and we just want you to be happy,” the grandmother said. “Call me. There are numbers on the TV that you can call, and I will come pick you up.”

Mother is accused of falsely imprisoning someone in unrelated charge

In a sudden turn of events on Friday, the sheriff’s office announced while they were investigating Melodee’s disappearance, they learned her mother had recently “prevented a victim from leaving a location against their will.”

“Although this arrest occurred during the course of the missing person investigation, it is not directly related to Melodee’s disappearance,” the sheriff’s office said.

Buzzard was arrested Friday on a charge of false imprisonment, a felony charge, and investigators have been reluctant to provide details about the incident while they search for Melodee.

Buzzard will be booked at a Santa Barbara County jail with bail set at $100,000, officials said.

The arrest comes about a week after the FBI served search warrants at Buzzard’s home and a storage locker, as well as the rental car Melodee was last seen in.

But the sheriff’s office declined to provide the identity of the victim of the alleged false imprisonment.

“Sheriff’s detectives remain fully focused on locating Melodee and confirming her safety,” the Friday release said.

Anyone who has seen Melodee or may have information about her whereabouts is encouraged to call the sheriff’s office or leave an anonymous tip.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2025 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

CNN’s Holly Yan and Michelle Watson contributed to this report.