New developments in the search for 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard suggest the missing California girl may still be alive and somewhere in Utah. The claim comes from Tyler S. Brewer, the man who recently accused Melodee’s mother, Ashlee Buzzard, of false imprisonment in a separate criminal case.
Melodee has been missing for more than a month. Her disappearance was first reported in mid-October after the Lompoc Unified School District in California noticed her extended absence. Investigators later learned that Melodee and her mother had taken a cross-country trip earlier in the fall, traveling from Lompoc to Nebraska in a rental car, and surveillance footage showed Melodee wearing what appeared to be a black wig. Authorities also confirmed the rental car’s license plate was swapped with one from New York during the trip.
When Ashlee returned to Santa Barbara County without her daughter, questions quickly mounted. Officials said Melodee’s last verified location was along the Colorado-Utah border, and the trail has gone cold since then. Brewer now says he believes the child may still be alive somewhere within Utah’s state lines.
Brewer, who has known Buzzard since 2014, said she confided in him about Melodee’s whereabouts before her arrest. He told investigators that Buzzard claimed to have left her daughter with someone in Utah. However, he also expressed doubt about the reliability of that account, citing her increasingly erratic behavior and mental health concerns.
The new information emerged just days after Buzzard was arrested on a felony charge of false imprisonment, which prosecutors stress is unrelated to the missing child investigation. According to the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office, Buzzard allegedly prevented Brewer from leaving her Lompoc home during a visit on Nov. 6. Brewer reported the incident to authorities, leading to her arrest. She remains in custody at the Northern Branch Jail in Santa Maria on $100,000 bail and is scheduled to appear in court this week.
Brewer described the encounter as alarming, saying Buzzard appeared paranoid and accused him of conspiring with police and relatives to take Melodee away. He reported that she locked multiple doors and blocked his exit before eventually allowing him to leave. The District Attorney’s Office later confirmed the criminal complaint accused Buzzard of “violating the personal liberty” of another person in a manner that suggested planning or sophistication.
Buzzard’s mother, Lori Miranda, has spoken publicly about her daughter’s past, describing years of instability and hardship. Miranda recalled periods of homelessness during Ashlee’s childhood as they fled domestic abuse, experiences later documented in local news archives. She said she has not spoken with her daughter since 2023.
As the investigation continues, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office has renewed its call for information about Melodee’s disappearance. Detectives are working with agencies in multiple states to follow up on any credible leads. Anyone with information is urged to contact the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office.
Sources: KTLA, NewsNation
