Nine-year-old Melodee Buzzard was reported missing from Lompoc, California, in mid-October 2025 after school officials noticed she had not attended school for an extended period. Investigators determined she was last seen on October 9, 2025, on surveillance cameras with her mother, Ashlee Buzzard, near the Colorado-Utah border during an impromptu road trip that began on October 7 in a rented white Chevrolet Malibu.
During the trip, law enforcement released footage showing both Melodee and Ashlee wearing wigs, and the rental car was deliberately fitted with an altered license plate in an apparent effort to avoid detection. After the road trip, Ashlee returned to California without Melodee, but did not report her daughter missing.
Investigation Challenges
From the start of the search, Ashlee was reported to be hostile to investigators and unwilling to cooperate, refusing to answer key questions that might have led to her daughter’s whereabouts. The FBI later joined the search, and authorities served multiple search warrants at the Buzzard residence, a storage locker, and the rental vehicle, gathering evidence including an expended cartridge case from the home and similar ammunition found in the Malibu.
Discovery of Remains
On December 6, 2025, a couple taking photos in a remote area of Wayne County, Utah, outside Caineville, discovered a badly decomposed body. Law enforcement confirmed the remains were of a female and that the victim had been shot in the head. It was not immediatey possible to identify the remains, but DNA analysis by the FBI confirmed on December 22 that the body was that of Melodee Buzzard.
Arrest and Charges
Following the DNA confirmation, Ashlee Buzzard, age 40, was arrested on December 23, 2025, in Santa Barbara County and charged with first-degree murder in connection with her daughter’s death. Law enforcement described the killing as cold-blooded and premeditated, noting that forensic evidence linked shell casings at the Utah site to those found at the Buzzard home. Ashlee is being held without bail.
Community and Official Reactions
Officials and community members reacted with shock and sorrow. Authorities emphasized Melodee’s vulnerability and the heartbreaking betrayal inherent in the case, because she was last with the one person she should have been able to trust. Investigators continue to look for the murder weapon, and the motive has not been publicly established.