(NewsNation) — The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office has provided a key update on the investigation into the whereabouts of missing 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard, indicating that she was last seen with her mother, Ashlee Buzzard, as recently as Oct. 7.
Investigators report that Ashley Buzzard may have driven with Melodee in a white Chevrolet Malibu to places outside of Santa Barbara County, possibly as far as Nebraska. The vehicle has been identified as a rental and is no longer in Buzzard’s possession.
Melodee was first reported missing last Tuesday after she failed to pick up classroom assignments from her school for several weeks. The FBI announced that they joined the investigation Sunday night.
Ashlee Buzzard refusing to cooperate with authorities
Investigators initially went to Melodee’s home in Lompoc, California, about 60 miles north of Santa Barbara, and found her mother but no sign of the child.
“At this point in the investigation, Ashlee Buzzard remains uncooperative and has not provided detectives with any information about Melodee’s current location or condition,” authorities said in the update.
Before the Oct. 7 sighting, the last confirmed contact with Melodee was in August of 2025, when she and her mother went to the Lompoc Unified School District to register her for an independent study program.
Melodee Buzzard’s family wasn’t allowed to see her
Melodee’s father died in a 2016 motorcycle accident shortly after she was born, and his relatives say that her mother hasn’t allowed them to see Melodee for around 4 1/2 years.
“I am horrified for my little niece, I can’t imagine what she’s gone through,” Melodee’s aunt Vicky Shade told The Los Angeles Times.
Shade also described Buzzard as “mentally unstable” and explained that Melodee’s grandmother “tried to get custody or at least grandparent rights to visit Melodee because she [Ashlee] wasn’t letting our side of the family see her.”
Investigators ask public not to intervene
The case has elicited a high level of interest, and detectives are asking the public to refrain from conducting “their own searches or investigations,” the update states.
“While well-intentioned, these efforts could unintentionally interfere with investigative work already in progress,” it read.
Anyone with information on Melodee’s whereabouts can contact authorities at (805) 681-4150. Tips can be submitted through the tip line at (805) 681-4171 or online at https://www.sbsheriff.org/home/anonymous-tip/.
NewsNation’s Steph Whiteside contributed to this report