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Where was Melodee Buzzard last seen? Investigators believe missing 9-year-old-girl's mother changed car's license plates to avoid detection

A new picture of Melodee Buzzard has emerged from near the Colorado-Utah border this week.
posted by Akanksha Mishra
Wednesday 11/5/2025 at 7:08AM EST
  • View of pedestrians as they look at pictures of people missing after the September 11 terrorist attacks, on a wall on 3rd Avenue (at East 25th Street), in the Kips Bay neighborhood, New York, New York, September 22, 2001. (Photo by Walter Leporati/Getty Images)
    View of pedestrians as they look at pictures of people missing after the September 11 terrorist attacks, on a wall on 3rd Avenue (at East 25th Street), in the Kips Bay neighborhood, New York, New York, September 22, 2001. (Photo by Walter Leporati/Getty Images)

    The missing-person investigation of 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard has made new developments this week.

    On Monday, November 3, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office shared released a new statement, revealing that the car that Melodee and her mother, Ashlee, were traveling in - a white Chevrolet Malibu - had a false license plate. It reads:

     

    "It is unknown when the plate was installed or whether additional plates were used at other times during travel. The New York plate seen on the car does not belong to the vehicle or to Ashlee."

    It also shares details of Buzzard's last known whereabouts:

    "Detectives have now confirmed that Melodee was last seen along the return route via video surveillance on Oct. 9, 2025, in the region between the Colorado–Utah border."

    The latest CCTV footage is from two days after the mother-daughter duo was spotted at a rental car business. 

    Claiming that this new evidence is helping them "fill gaps in the timeline," the detectives are looking for members of their communitis in Coloroado, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, and Southern California, for assistance. These are the places the Malibu they were in appears to have traveled before October 9. 

    In addition to the CCTV image of Ashlee, officers have also shared the map marking all of the car's stops on their website and are urging anyone with relevant knowledge to come forward. 

    The investigation into Melodee Buzzard started after her school administrator's report

    The investigation into Melodee Buzzard began last month on October 14, when an administrator from her study program reported her extended absence. While the nine-year-old had been homeschooled for most of her life, Ashlee had enrolled her into an indepedent study program offered by the Lompoc Unified School District this year. 

    After the program's administrator's attempts at reaching Buzzard's family following her extended absence were failed, a welfare check was requested from the law enforcement.

    Per investigators, Ashlee and Melodee were spotted taking a three-day road trip to Nebraska earlier in October, from which the mother returned alone on October 7. Ashlee has since been questioned by officials but remains uncooperative. 

    In her recently-surfaced pictures, the nine-year-old is seen in a grey hooded sweatshirt, with what appears to be wig of darker and straighter hair than she originally has. It is being considered that the wig might have been an attempt at disguising her appearance. Her mother has also been known to wear wigs.

    Melodee's mother allegedly has multiple unpaid debts, for which the creditors have also filed civil lawsuits against her. Meanwhile, her family members also claim that the mother hasn't let anyone see Melodee in the last few years. 

    TOPICS: Melodee Buzzard