Authorities in California have arrested the mother of missing 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard, but not in connection with her daughter’s disappearance — a case that continues to confound investigators and haunt the Central Coast community where the girl lived.
Buzzard Was Arrested For False Imprisonment
The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office said Friday that Ashlee Buzzard, 40, was taken into custody on suspicion of false imprisonment. Officials said Buzzard is accused of holding another person against their will, though they declined to release further details about the alleged incident. Her bail was expected to be set at $100,000. It wasn’t immediately clear whether she had retained an attorney or entered a plea.
This Adds Another Layer To The Mystery
Buzzard’s arrest adds another layer of uncertainty to a case already thick with questions and few clear answers. Her daughter, Melodee, has been missing for nearly a month, last seen on Oct. 9 in the rugged area near the Colorado-Utah border during what authorities described as a road trip to Nebraska. Investigators say Buzzard was traveling with Melodee in a rented white Chevrolet Malibu — a car later returned to California with its license plate swapped for one registered in New York.
She Hasn’t Been Cooperating With Police
Surveillance footage from Oct. 7 showed Melodee at a car rental business with her mother, appearing to wear a wig. Three days later, Buzzard returned alone to her home in Lompoc, on California’s Central Coast. When questioned, she reportedly declined to cooperate with investigators. Authorities launched a missing person investigation on Oct. 14, after a school administrator reported Melodee’s prolonged absence from class. Since then, the case has drawn national attention, both for its strange timeline and for the gaps in what is publicly known.
No One Knows If This Has To Do With Melodee’s Disappearance
Melodee’s half-sister, Corrina Meza, told local NBC affiliate KSBY that their father died when Melodee was a baby, and that contact with the girl had been rare. “We never saw her,” Meza said, describing years of distance within the family and uncertainty about Melodee’s day-to-day life. Authorities have not identified any suspects or located the missing child. The sheriff’s office has also not said whether the new charges against Buzzard could influence the ongoing investigation.
