Where was Melodee Buzzard's body found? Ashlee Buzzard arrested on suspicion of her 9-year-old daughter's murder 2 months after her disappearance

9-year-old Melodee Buzzard's body was discovered in a rural area of Utah, about two months after her disappearance from California. On Tuesday, authorities took Melodee's mother, Ashlee, into custody in connection to her daughter's murder. According to cops, a "significant amount of evidence" has been recovered, allegedly linking Ashlee to the murder.

Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown stated that Ashlee Buzzard is being held without bail over suspicion of first-degree murder.

"Maternal filicide is rare and always difficult to comprehend. This level of criminal activity is particularly shocking given the calculated, cold-blooded, and criminally sophisticated premeditation and heartlessness that went into planning it," said Brown.

Bill Brown shared more details about the discovery of Melodee's remains on December 6, 2025. According to Brown, a man and a woman came across the body while clicking photographs in Wayne County, Utah. The Santa Barbara County Sheriff added that it was evident that the body was of a child who sustained a gunshot wound to the head. During a press conference on Tuesday, Brown said,

"Our investigators and those of our allied agencies worked simultaneously on multiple fronts, some maintaining around-the-clock surveillance of Ashley Buzzard, while others focused on the painstaking collection, analysis, and verification of physical, digital, and forensic evidence."

Brown continued by stating that they have matched casings recovered from the crime scene to an expended cartridge found at 40-year-old Ahslee Buzzard's residence.

Ashley Buzzard was arrested last month in a separate case after being accused of falsely imprisoning a man

The recent arrest of Ashlee Buzzard happened a little over a month after her last arrest, which happened earlier in November. She then allegedly "prevented a victim from leaving a location" in Lompoc. On November 10, the 40-year-old was charged with a single count of felony false imprisonment.

Tyler Brewer, the victim, claimed that Ashlee had a box cutter and prevented him from leaving the home, as per reports by ABC News. Brewer, who is a "legal document assistant, process server, mandated reporter, and perceived officer of the court," reportedly visited Ashlee to offer her legal aid after Melodee Buzzard disappeared.

Sharing a statement on the situation, Tyler Brewer said,

"Ms. Buzzard became visibly distressed after sharing information she appeared to regret disclosing. A box cutter was produced, and despite multiple requests to be allowed to exit the home, I was not immediately permitted to leave."

At the time of her arrest on November 7, authorities confirmed that it was not related to her daughter's disappearance. According to reports, Ashlee pleaded not guilty in the courtroom in connection to the false imprisonment charge. She was soon released from prison along with a bunch of conditions.

According to ABC News, the conditions included having a GPS monitor on and avoiding any kind of contact with Tyler. At the time, the order was protested by prosecutors who claimed that Ashlee was a flight risk. They claimed that she wore wigs and also changed her license plates shortly before her daughter went missing.

The judge, however, did not consider the argument noting that the claims were related to the disappearance case and not the false imprisonment case. Melodee's murder case remains an ongoing investigation with authorities trying to determine a motive.