Body of missing 9-year-old Lompoc girl found, source says – NBC Los Angeles

The body of a missing 9-year-old Lompoc girl who has been missing since October was found earlier this month, a law enforcement source familiar with the investigation told NBC News.

The body of Melodee Buzzard, who was last seen during a road trip two months ago with her mother, was found out of state, the source said. More details about what led to the discovery were not immediately available.

In a post earlier on X, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department said it will announce “major developments” Tuesday in the search for Melodee Buzzard. Those details were expected at a 2 p.m. news conference.

The girl’s mother, 40-year-old Ashlee Buzzard, was taken back into custody, according to video shared with NBC News affiliate KSBY. Neighbors told KSBY that they saw deputies escort Ashlee Buzzard from her home in Vandenberg Village early Tuesday morning.

It is not immediately clear why Buzzard was taken into custody.

The sheriff’s department began investigating the case Oct. 14 after a school administrator reported Melodee had not been seen at school for several days. Detectives said Melodee and her mother, Ashlee Buzzard, left California Oct. 7 in a white 2024 Chevrolet Malibu with license plate license plate 9MNG101. They traveled as far as Nebraska before the return trip, authorities said.

Melodee was last seen on the return trip to California Oct. 9 on security camera video near the Colorado-Utah border, investigators said.

Beginning Oct. 8, the Malibu was seen with New York license plate HCG967, the sheriff’s department said. It was not immediately clear when the different plate was installed or whether other plates were used during the trip.

On or around Oct. 9, the Malibu is believed to have traveled through Green River and Panguitch, Utah; northwest Arizona; Primm, Nevada; and Rancho Cucamonga.

Detectives also shared security camera images that they said show Ashlee Buzzard and her daughter at a rental car business in Lompoc at the start of the trip on Oct. 7. They appear to be wearing wigs, the agency said.

Ashlee Buzzard, 40, was arrested in November in an unrelated crime, the sheriff’s department said. She was arrested on suspicion of felony false imprisonment, authorities said.