(KRON) — A months-long search for a missing 9-year-old California girl ended in tragedy when Melodee Elani Buzzard’s body was found in Utah, Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown announced Tuesday.
Melodee Buzzard was reported missing from the Lompoc area by school officials on October 14. Her remains were found in a rural area of Caineville, Utah, in December, Brown said.
Ashlee Lynn Buzzard was arrested Tuesday morning on suspicion of murdering her daughter. The FBI and Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office served an arrest warrant at the Buzzard home in Lompoc and booked the mother into Santa Barbara County Northern Branch Jail for first-degree murder.
Her daughter was fatally shot in the head, according to the sheriff’s office.
Sheriff Brown said, “Melodee deserved a far better life, and she will never be forgotten.”
The sheriff continued, “this is an extraordinarily tragic case involving the murder of a child by the very person she relied upon and trusted the most. While maternal filicide is rare and difficult to comprehend, the evidence in this case clearly indicates a calculated, deliberate, and ruthless act.”
Melodee Buzzard (Photo via Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office)
Melodee was homeschooled and lived with her mother in Vandenberg Village. Detectives were suspicious of Ashlee Buzzard, 40, throughout the investigation because she refused to cooperate after her daughter’s disappearance.
“Detectives encountered deliberate efforts to prevent them from locating Melodee and uncovering the truth. Despite these obstacles, investigators remained methodical and relentless, relying on evidence when cooperation was withheld and overcoming barriers placed in their path. Their unwavering commitment ultimately led to today’s arrest,” the sheriff’s office wrote.
A car rental shop’s surveillance camera recorded the mother and daughter wearing wigs while they rented a car. Detectives discovered that Ashlee switched license plates and used the rental car to drive her daughter across Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Wyoming, and Nebraska. But when the mother later returned home to California, Melodee was not with her.
Ashlee Buzzard is seen with her daughter on Oct. 7, 2025 at a car rental company in Lompoc. (SBCSO Images)
“Melodee was last seen on video with Ashlee on October 9, 2025, near the Colorado-Utah border. Investigators now believe Melodee was murdered shortly after that point,” the sheriff’s office wrote.
On December 6, the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office in Utah responded to a report of a decomposed body discovered off East State Route 24, northeast of Capitol Reef National Park. The girl had died from gunshot wounds to the head.
On December 22, an FBI Crime Lab confirmed that the remains discovered in Utah were a familial DNA match to Ashlee Buzzard.
Cartridge cases found in Utah were linked to cartridge case recovered from the Buzzards’ Lompoc home. “An expended cartridge case was recovered from the residence, and a live round of similar ammunition was located in the vehicle,” the sheriff’s office wrote.
Brown said, “The loss of Melodee Buzzard is heartbreaking. We hoped against hope that she would be found alive. This outcome is devastating. We remain committed to working closely with prosecutors to ensure justice.”
Amy Larson
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