The mother of a missing Vandenberg Village girl switched wigs during the four days they traveled out of state, possibly as far as Nebraska, as authorities continue to look for Melodee Buzzard without cooperation from her mother.
Santa Barbara County sheriff’s detectives on Thursday released surveillance video from Oct. 7 showing the missing and at-risk 9-year-old Melodee and her mother, Ashlee Buzzard, 40, at a Lompoc rental car business.
“The footage corresponds to previously released still images and shows both Ashlee and Melodee wearing wigs,” said Raquel Zick, public information officer for the Sheriff’s Office. “Investigators also believe that Ashlee swapped wigs throughout the trip, changing to a darker wig that is similar in color and style to the one Melodee was seen wearing.
“This change in appearance is believed to have been intentional to avoid recognition during travel.”
It’s not the only step that Ashlee Buzzard reportedly took to avoid detection during the trip.
The pair left California on Oct. 7, with Ashlee Buzzard driving a rented white 2024 Chevrolet Malibu that initially displayed California license plate 9MNG101.
A day later, detectives said, the rented Malibu was sported with New York license plate HCG9677.
“The plate does not belong to the vehicle or Ashlee and is believed to have been used as a false or switched plate to avoid detection. When the Malibu was returned to the Lompoc rental agency, the original California plate was back on the vehicle,” Zick said.
The search for Melodee Buzzard began Oct. 14 when educators alerted law enforcement officers.
Sheriff’s Office detectives and FBI agents have searched Vandenberg Village at 550 Mars Ave., but apparently did not turn up information about Melodee’s whereabouts.
Detectives believe the Malibu traveled Oct. 9 on or around Green River, Utah, Panguitch, Utah, Northwest Arizona, Primm, Nevada, and Rancho Cucamonga, California.
Earlier this week, the Sheriff’s Office released a map of their travels and urged businesses, gas stations, hotels, rest stops and community members in those areas to review surveillance footage from Oct. 9-10.
“Ashlee has continued to refuse cooperation and has not confirmed Melodee’s location or welfare,” Zick said.
Relatives have said Ashlee has received in-patient care for mental health issues in the past, and court records show financial troubles.
Melodee’s father died in a 2016 motorcycle crash in Santa Maria, but Ashlee kept the girl away from his family, they said.
In the past year, debt collectors have filed three cases in Santa Barbara County Superior Court against Ashlee Buzzard but struggled to present the paperwork to her.
The most recent case, filed in May by Capital One NA, was dismissed without prejudice Monday at the request of the plaintiff’s attorneys. That typically means they could choose to refile the case.
Court records didn’t explain the reason for withdrawing the case, but a required proof of service had not been submitted months after the initial filing.
That case sought $3,745.21 plus interest dating back to 2023.
In December 2024, another case from the same credit card firm sought $2,778.84, but also was dismissed months later after not providing proof the paperwork had been served to Buzzard.
A November 2024 case filed by Crown Asset Management LLC claimed she owed $2,659.71 for charges beginning in 2019 with the last payment in early 2023.
In that case, attempts to serve Ashlee Buzzard the paperwork for the legal claim weren’t successful, with the first attempt occurring twice in November 2024. A neighbor told the person trying to serve the summons that the house had been vacant for three months, according to court documents.
A second attempt in September inexplicably involved an address at 817 Nebraska Ave. at Vandenberg Space Force Base, although the paperwork identified her residence at the Mars Avenue home.
“I spoke with an individual who identified themselves as the Army, and they stated subject unknown. Address was a military base. They checked system and told them the subject doesn’t live here,” according to the paperwork.
The mother and her daughter reportedly have lived at the Mars Avenue address since at least 2023, with both appearing in a Google Maps street view image.
A 2016 debt collections case in the local court listed a Lompoc address for Buzzard, but a resident told the process server the woman didn’t live there.
A December 2015 lawsuit seeking payment for jewelry purchased in 2014 on credit from a store at the Santa Maria Town Center listed an Orcutt address, while her 2017 federal bankruptcy case included a Santa Maria address.
It’s not clear if or where Buzzard works, but she claimed on the jewelry store credit application she worked for the Santa Maria-Bonita School District, and Transparent California said she was employed as an instructional assistant there from 2016-18.
Anyone who has seen Melodee or has information about her whereabouts can contact the Sheriff’s Office by calling detectives at 805.681.4150 or the anonymous tip line at 805.681.4171.
Additionally, online tips may be submitted anonymously by clicking here.