Missing Nine-Year-Old Melodee Buzzard Found Dead; Mother Ashlee Arrested For Her Murder
VANDENBERG VILLAGE, Calif. (KEYT) – Law enforcement confirmed Tuesday morning that Melodee Buzzard, the local nine-year-old missing since earlier this year, has been confirmed dead and her mother has been taken into custody on a charge of first degree murder.
Melodee's paternal grandmother, Lilly Denes, shared with Your News Channel that the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office informed her that her granddaughter's body had been recovered and that Ashlee has been taken into custody Tuesday morning.
Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown shared during a press conference Tuesday afternoon that Ashlee Buzzard is in custody on a charge of first degree murder and she is being held without bail.
Investigators have not confirmed an exact motive.
"The loss of Melodee Buzzard is heartbreaking," Sheriff Brown stated Tuesday. "We hoped against hope that she would be found alive. This outcome is devastating."
On Oct. 30, detectives served search warrants at Ashlee Buzzard's home on Mars Avenue, at a storage unit, and on the Chevy Malibu Ashlee had rented to drive Melodee to multiple states.
A spent cartridge case was found inside of the home and a live round of similar ammunition was spotted inside of the rented vehicle noted the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office.
The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives eventually matched the recovered shell casing and the live round discovered during the searches added the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office.
Law enforcement in Wayne County, Utah located the body of a female child with gunshot wounds to her head on Dec. 6 in a remote area of Wayne County, Utah off the roadway near the 3300 block of East State Route 24.
The image below shows the general area where Melodee was discovered earlier this month.
On Dec. 22, the FBI Crime Lab used DNA samples to confirm a familial relationship between the recovered remains and Ashlee Buzzard.
"This investigation does not end here," said Sheriff Brown. "We remain committed to working closely with prosecutors to ensure justice is pursued with integrity, care, and compassion. Melodee deserved a far better life, and she will never be forgotten."
An alert school administrator initially raised the alarm about the missing nine-year-old on October 14 after the home schooler had not reported in as required.
"Lompoc Unified School District deserves credit for recognizing that something wasn’t right, reaching out, and continuing to assist with this investigation," stated Lieutenant Chris Gotschall from the Sheriff's Criminal Investigations Division. "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."
According to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office, Melodee's mother was, "uncooperative with investigators" and detectives did not receive any verified information about the nine-year-old's whereabouts outside of the local school district when the public search began.
During the multi-day trip, both were seen wearing wigs and at some point, the license plate on the rental car was swapped with out-of-state plates.
Investigators believe that Melodee died on Oct. 9, 2025, shared Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office during Tuesday's press conference.
In November, Ashlee Buzzard was arrested for false imprisonment by deputies, but the case was dismissed one day after her first court appearance.
Your News Channel reached out to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office, the Wayne County Sheriff's Office and the Wayne County Attorney for more information about the next steps in the case and their respective responses will be added to this article when they are received.
