Family members are desperately searching for Melodee Buzzard, a 9-year-old girl who was last seen in Lompoc in August and whose mother refuses to answer questions about her whereabouts.
Melodee was officially reported missing Tuesday after officials at the Lompoc Unified School District contacted the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office to report her prolonged absence, according to authorities.
The girl had enrolled in an independent learning program in August, the school district said in a statement, and sheriff’s officials say she has not been seen since.
Sheriff’s deputies went to the girl’s home in Vandenberg Village on Tuesday. Inside they made contact with Ashlee Buzzard, Melodee’s mother, but the girl was nowhere to be seen, according to authorities. Her mother remains uncooperative with the investigation.
Vicky Shade, Melodee’s aunt, said that the girl’s mother has a long history of mental illness and refused to let relatives visit the girl.
“Ashlee is mentally unstable and my mom tried to get custody or at least grandparent rights to visit Melodee because she [Ashlee] wasn’t letting our side of the family see her,” Shade said.
Shade’s brother, Rubiell Meza, is Ashlee’s father. He died in a motorcycle accident in 2016, shortly after Melodee was born.
Buzzard and Rubiell Meza previously lived in Santa Maria with Meza’s mother. However, Buzzard moved away shortly after Meza died and changed her phone number, Shade said.
“I am horrified for my little niece, I can’t imagine what she’s gone through,” Shade said. “This does not sound good. I just want to know if she’s OK. We need to find her.”
The most recent photo available of Melodee is 2 years old, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Another one of Melodee’s aunts, Lizabeth Meza, said that Buzzard had struggled with mental illness for years. She said Buzzard has attempted to take her own life multiple times and was previously hospitalized for treatment.
Meza’s family has not been able to see Melodee in around four and a half years, she said.
They are currently focused on putting up missing child posters around Lompoc and sharing Melodee’s story on social media in hopes of generating leads about the girl’s whereabouts.
Buzzard was seen entering her Vandenberg Village home Thursday by local TV station KSBY, but refused to speak with a reporter. She also did not respond to requests from The Times for comment.
Federal court records show that Buzzard filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2017 and has had at least five collections cases for unpaid debts filed against her in Santa Barbara County Superior Court. This includes cases filed against her by Capital One Bank in May and December, and by Crown Asset Management last November.
Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Raquel Zick said that Melodee had previously been homeschooled for several years. However, the California Department of Education has no record of Buzzard filing a private school affidavit, which is a requirement for homeschooling, according to department spokesperson Scott Roark.
According to a statement from the Lompoc Unified School District, Melodee and her mother visited Mission Valley Independent Study School to initiate her registration in August. But Melodee then failed to pick up assignments, prompting the school to initiate outreach reach out to her mother, and, ultimately, law enforcement.
“Lompoc Unified School District deserves credit for recognizing that something wasn’t right, reaching out, and continuing to assist with this investigation,” Sheriff’s Lt. Chris Gotschall said in a statement. “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.”
Anyone with information about Melodee is asked to contact the Sheriff’s Office at (805) 681-4150. Tips can also be left anonymously at (805) 681-4171 or at SBSheriff.org.
