Melodee Buzzard’s disappearance and death – NBC Los Angeles

The missing person case of 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard left law enforcement stunned when the body of the young girl from Santa Barbara County was found in a remote area in Utah about two months after her disappearance.

Shortly after the grim discovery was made, the girl’s mother, 40-year-old Ashlee Buzzard, was arrested on suspicion of her daughter’s murder.

The case began when a school employee reported the girl’s long absence from school and escalated to Melodee’s decomposing body being found with gunshot wounds to her head. Here’s a timeline of the young girl’s missing person case.

Oct. 7 – The Buzzards begin their road trip wearing wigs

Security camera from a rental car business in Lompoc captured Melodee and her mother at the establishment, wearing what seemed to be wigs. Investigators believed the wigs may have been used to alter their appearances.

The Buzzards left the state and traveled as far as Nebraska in a rented white 2204 Chevrolet Malibu with a license plate that read 9MNG101.

Oct. 8 – Rented vehicle is seen with different license plate

The Malibu Ashlee and Melodee were traveling in was seen with a New York license plate that read HCG967. It’s unclear when the plates were swapped, but law enforcement said detectives believe they were changed to avoid detection.

“The New York plate seen on the car does not belong to the vehicle or to Ashlee,” Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department (SBSO) said in a statement. “Investigators believe it was used as a false or switched plate to avoid detection. When the vehicle was returned to the rental agency in Lompoc, California, the assigned California plate was on the vehicle.”

Oct. 9 – Melodee is last seen

Security camera taken near the Utah-Colorado border captured the young girl.

Melodee Buzzard, 9, was last seen Oct. 9 as she and her mother went on a road trip in a rental car.

Oct. 10 – Ashlee returns to California

Ashlee Buzard was seen returning to Lompoc in the Malibu, but without Melodee.

Oct. 14 – Investigation begins

A school administrator in Lompoc, where Melodee and Ashlee lived, reported that the child hadn’t been at school for several days, prompting detectives to begin their investigation.

Sheriff’s deputies said the mother refused to cooperate with their investigation.

Oct. 30 – Lompoc home is searched

Investigators searched the home of the Buzzards, as well as the rental car they were seen traveling in and a storage locker. During the search, Ashlee was escorted to an “alternate location that would not interfere with their ability to conduct a thorough search,” the sheriff’s department said. 

Nov. 7 – Ashlee is arrested in case unrelated to Melodee

SBSO said Ashlee Buzzard was arrested after she allegedly “prevented a victim from leaving a location” in Lompoc.

Nov. 10 – Ashlee charged in unrelated case

Ashlee Buzzard was charged in a case that was not directly related to Melodee’s disappearance, according to prosecutors.

The mother was charged with a single count of felony false imprisonment. Details surrounding that case were not disclosed, but law enforcement said it was related to an incident that happened days before.

Law enforcement have released new images of a young Santa Barbara County girl who’s been missing. This video was broadcast on Today in LA on Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025.

Dec. 6 – Remains are found in Utah

Hikers roaming through a remote part of Caineville, Utah, in Wayne County, found the girl’s decomposing body.

According to Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown, the immediate identification of the remains was not possible, but it was clear the body had gunshot wounds.

Dec. 8 – Utah authorities flag body

Following the grim discovery, law enforcement in Wayne County notified the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department of the identified body.

Dec. 22 – Body identified as Melodee

The Federal Bureau of Investigation crime lab positively identified the body as that of Melodee’s through a DNA analysis, SBSO said.

Dec. 23 – Ashlee Buzzard is arrested

After confirming the body found in Utah was Melodee, her mother, Ashlee, was arrested in their Lompoc home on suspicion of her murder.

A search and arrest warrant was served at the mother and daughter’s home in the morning, leading to Ashlee Buzzard being taken into custody without incident. She faces a charge of first-degree murder and was booked into the Santa Barbara County Northern Branch Jail, where she was held without bail.

A possible motive was not clear.