A school district has shared new information with authorities as the Sheriff’s Office continues the search for a missing 9 year-old Vandenberg Village girl.  

On Friday, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office said detectives were able to confirm a sighting of Melodee Buzzard in August 2025, with the assistance of Lompoc Unified School District.

“This important update helps narrow a significant gap in the timeline of when she was last known to be seen and because of that, we’re closer to understanding what happened to Melodee,” Lieutenant Chris Gotschall from the Criminal Investigations Division said. 

A school administrator recently reported Melodee missing after she was continuously absent, according to Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Raquel Zick.

Lompoc Unified School District confirmed today that Melodee was enrolled in the school district in August after she and her mother began the registration process for Melodee at Mission Valley Independent School, according to Lompoc Unified School District spokeswoman Caasi Chavez.

When detectives started an investigation, they could not confirm a recent sighting of Melodee; the last verified contact was a year ago and the most recent photo of her was from two years ago. 

“Lompoc Unified School District deserves credit for recognizing that something wasn’t right, reaching out, and continuing to assist with this investigation,” Gotschall said. 

Since the beginning of the investigation, Melodee’s mother, Ashlee Buzzard has not been able to provide a clear explanation to where her daughter could be, according to the Sheriff’s Office. Buzzard has been uncooperative with investigators and detectives have not gotten a verified answer to where Melodee could be, Zick said.

The Sheriff’s Office continues to ask the community for help locating the young girl and to share any contact with her to the Sheriff’s Criminal Investigations Division at 805.681.4150 or tip anonymously at 805.681.4171 or online at SBSheriff.org.