Mother of missing 9-year-old Santa Barbara County girl not cooperating with investigation, deputies say

The search for a 9-year-old girl missing from Santa Barbara County has expanded outside of California, investigators said on Monday. 

Melodee Buzzard, from Lompoc, which is about 60 miles northwest of Santa Barbara, was first reported missing by officials with the Lompoc Unified School District, in which she attends school. They said that she had not been seen since August, according to a news release from the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office. 

"With the assistance of Lompoc Unified School District, detectives have confirmed that Melodee was seen as recently as August 2025," said the news release shared on Friday, October 17. 

They said that Melodee's mother, Ashlee Buzzard, has been uncooperative with their investigation thus far. 

"We have not been able to get her to cooperate with us and give us information to confirm Melodee's safety," said Raquel Zick, a public information officer with SBSO. 

On Monday, deputies shared further details on the girl's alleged disappearance, stating that she was last seen with her mother, Ashlee Buzzard, as recently as Oct. 7, and that she may have driven to "locations outside of Santa Barbara County to include as far as the state of Nebraska," said Monday's news release. 

The mother was possibly driving a white Chevrolet Malibu with the California license plate 9MNG101, which was determined to be a rental car and is no longer in Buzzard's possession.

On Sunday night, the FBI's Los Angeles office posted on X to share that they are assisting Santa Barbara County authorities with the ongoing search. 

Anyone with further information was asked to contact either SBSO at (805) 681-4150 or the FBI at 1-800-225-5324.