The mother of missing Melodee Buzzard is in court today on unrelated charge. Here’s how we got here

By Elizabeth Wolfe, Eric Levenson, CNN

(CNN) — The search for Melodee Buzzard began on October 14 when a school administrator reported the 9-year-old had been absent for a prolonged time.

The investigation into her whereabouts has now stretched for nearly a month, focused on a 1,000-mile road trip from California to Nebraska, and has led to the arrest of her “uncooperative” mother, Ashlee Buzzard, on an unrelated charge.

Here’s a closer look at the timeline of the child’s disappearance and the search for her.

Mother-daughter life in SoCal

Melodee and Ashlee Buzzard lived in a home on Mars Avenue in Lompoc, California, about an hour’s drive west of Santa Barbara.

Melodee’s father died from a motorcycle crash when she was only 6 months old, CNN affiliate KSBY reported.

Family members said they had lost touch with Melodee and Ashlee Buzzard in recent years. In an interview with NewsNation last month, Melodee’s aunt, Lizabeth Meza, said she had not seen her niece in four years.

One of the most recent photos of Melodee was from 2023.

Melodee participated in the Lompoc Unified School District’s remote study program and was seen in August 2025, according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office.

The sheriff’s office described her as about 4-feet-6-inches tall, 60 pounds, with brown curly hair and brown eyes.

The ‘critical’ road trip

On October 7, Ashlee Buzzard left California with Melodee, driving a rented white 2024 Chevrolet Malibu, and returned three days later without the girl. That period is now a “critical” time frame for investigators, the sheriff’s office said.

Surveillance footage from the rental car business in Lompoc showed the mother-daughter pair wearing what appeared to be wigs on October 7, the sheriff’s office said.

“Investigators also believe that Ashlee swapped wigs throughout the trip, changing to a darker wig that is similar in color and style to the one Melodee was seen wearing,” the sheriff’s office said. “This change in appearance is believed to have been intentional to avoid recognition during travel.”

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 was 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.

Per the sheriff’s office, on October 9, the Chevy Malibu traveled through cities in at least four states, including Green River, Utah; Panguitch, Utah; Northwest Arizona; Primm, Nevada; and Rancho Cucamonga, California.

On October 9, surveillance footage captured Melodee in an area near the Colorado–Utah state line on the return trip, the last confirmed sighting of her.

On October 10, the Malibu was returned to the Lompoc rental agency with its original California plates.

The investigation begins

Melodee’s disappearance was reported on October 14 by Lompoc school administrators, who noticed she had not been participating in the remote study program her mother had recently enrolled her in. The sheriff’s office said an administrator contacted police for a welfare check after her “prolonged absence.”

Officers searched the home, but Melodee was nowhere to be found. Her mother could not provide a “reasonable” explanation for her whereabouts, the sheriff’s office said.

Ashlee Buzzard “has been uncooperative with investigators,” the sheriff’s office said on October 17.

The FBI joined the investigation on October 18.

With public interest growing, the sheriff’s office on October 20 asked the public “not to attempt to conduct their own searches or investigations. While well-intentioned, these efforts could unintentionally interfere with investigative work already in progress.”

On October 22, investigators released to the public a timeline of Melodee’s movements, and on October 24, they released surveillance images of her at the rental car agency.

Members of Melodee’s father’s side of the family held a candlelight vigil for the missing girl on October 24, according to KSBY.

On October 30, investigators served follow-up search warrants at the Buzzard home, a storage locker and the rental car.

Further, investigators released on November 6 a short video of Melodee and Ashlee Buzzard at the rental agency weeks earlier.

Mother arrested on false imprisonment charge

On November 7, the sheriff’s office announced they had arrested Ashlee Buzzard on a false imprisonment charge unrelated to Melodee’s disappearance.

Investigators said they learned of an incident a day earlier in which the mother “prevented a victim from leaving a location against their will.”

Buzzard faces a felony charge of false imprisonment by violence, according to the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office. She was being held at a county jail with bail set at $100,000, records show.

The alleged victim in the false imprisonment case posted a statement on social media – which he later removed – saying he went to Buzzard’s house on November 6 to offer help finding Melodee.

“[D]uring an interaction at her residence, the situation escalated. Ms. Buzzard became visibly distressed after sharing information she appeared to regret disclosing,” the man wrote.

“A box cutter was produced, and despite multiple requests to be allowed to exit the home, I was not immediately permitted to leave. The door was secured by several locks, which delayed my ability to exit. This incident was reported to law enforcement.”

Authorities have not provided any specifics of the alleged interaction.

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