Missing CA Girl May Be Wearing A Wig In Newly Released Photos, Police Say

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, CA — Authorities recently obtained surveillance images from a car rental business of a 9-year-old girl that has been missing in California for more than a year.

Melodee Buzzard is believed to have been spotted at a car rental business on Oct. 7, but investigators believe she may have been put in a wig to "alter her appearance," according to a news release from the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department.

In stills taken from the business's footage, Melodee is seen wearing a hooded sweatshirt with the hood pulled up and what appears to be a wig that is darker and straighter than her natural hair, the agency said. Her mother, 35-year-old Ashlee Buzzard, is also known to wear wigs, police said.

Melodee disappeared from Vandenberg Village, near Lompoc, where her school administrator reported her extended absence from school on Oct. 14. Upon contacting her mother at their home, Melodee was not there and Ashlee did not provide a "verifiable" explanation as to where she was.

The following day, detectives served a search warrant at the residence, but Melodee was not found. Her mother remained “uncooperative,” according to deputies. On Oct. 18, the Federal Bureau of Investigation joined the search for the missing girl, who has been deemed an at-risk missing person.

In what investigators are calling a “perplexing case,” officials said Melodee’s mother, Ashlee Buzzard, may have traveled as far as Nebraska with her daughter in a white rental Chevrolet Malibu (license plate 9MNG101). The pair were reportedly seen last on Oct. 7.

Investigators have confirmed that Ashlee was seen returning to her Lompoc home on Oct. 10, driving the same rental vehicle she left in but Melodee was not in the car, authorities said.

"Detectives are now focused on determining where Melodee was during those three days and where she may be now," officials said in the Friday release.

A timeline has also been put together by the department and officials are urging the public to help fill in the blanks.

Anyone who may have seen Melodee Buzzard is urged to contact detectives immediately via the following means:

• Detectives Line: 805-681-4150
• Anonymous Tip Line: 805-681-4171
• Online tips: SBSheriff.org

The most recent verified photo of Melodee Buzzard is about two years old. She is described as a 9-year-old girl, roughly 4 feet 6 inches tall and weighing around 60 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. Investigators said her appearance may have changed since the photo was taken.

The sheriff’s office did not specify what clothing Melodee was last seen wearing or provide details about her last confirmed location beyond noting she was last seen with her mother, Ashlee Buzzard, on Oct. 7. Authorities also did not release information about where Ashlee might currently be.

While the sheriff's department is seeking the public's help to assist investigators in the search, authorities are "asking the public not to attempt to conduct their own searches or investigations."

"While well-intentioned, these efforts could unintentionally interfere with investigative work already in progress," the department's Monday update states.