Body Of Missing 9-Year-Old Melodee Buzzard Found; Mother In Custody: Reports

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, CA — The body of missing Southern California 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard has been found, and her mother, Ashlee Buzzard, is in custody, according to reports.

The girl's body was discovered in Utah earlier this month, multiple law enforcement sources confirmed to ABC News, which reported authorities believe the child was killed and likely dead in October.

Utah was among the states the mother and daughter visited during a sprawling road trip in October, authorities have said.

Her mother was in custody after DNA results were obtained from the remains, the sources told ABC News.

Ashlee Buzzard was taken into custody around 7:45 a.m. Tuesday, KSBY reported, with the incident captured on video by neighbors in Vandenberg Village. Melodee Buzzard's grandmother told the outlet the child's body had been found.

The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office said it would share "major developments" in the case at a news conference at 2 p.m. Tuesday.

Ashlee Buzzard was previously taken into custody last month, the sheriff's department confirmed at the time. But the judge dismissed the false imprisonment case, due inconsistency with the accounts of a victim who was not Melodee Buzzard, KEYT reported.

Melodee Buzzard was reported missing in early October. A school official first reported her extended absence on Oct. 14 after Buzzard was unable to provide a verifiable explanation for the child’s whereabouts and declined to confirm her welfare. The girl's other family members said they hadn't seen her in months.

Surveillance footage released by the sheriff’s office showed Ashlee and Melodee Buzzard at a rental-car counter in Lompoc on Oct. 7, both wearing wigs. Authorities believe the disguise may have been used to avoid recognition and that the vehicle’s license plate was swapped during the trip, which reportedly crossed multiple states.

The two left California on Oct. 7 in a rented white 2024 Chevrolet Malibu with the California plate 9MNG101, going as far as Nebraska and returning through Kansas, according to the FBI. On Oct. 8, the Malibu was spotted with the New York plate HCG9677, the FBI reported, adding that plate did not belong to the vehicle or to Ashlee. Eventually, the Malibu was returned to the rental agency with its assigned California plate.

Melodee was last seen Oct. 9 on the return route via video surveillance in the area of the Colorado-Utah border, according to the FBI.

READ MORE:

• Strange New Details Emerge In Case Of Missing CA 9-Year-Old: FBI
  
• Missing 9-Year-Old Melodee Buzzard's Mother Arrested
  
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