Search For Missing Girl From Vandenberg Village Goes National
Jarrod Zinn
LOMPOC, Calif. (KEYT) – Residents in Vandenberg Village are becoming increasingly concerned about the welfare of missing 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard.
Now the FBI is involved, and the search radius has grown significantly.
We’ve learned Melodee’s father passed away when she was a baby, and posts on social media indicate her mother Ashlee is known to struggle with her mental health.
The young girl was reported missing on October 14th by administrators at Lompoc Unified School District, after observing an unusually long extended absence.
Law enforcement officers say Ashlee Buzzard, mother of missing 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard is being uncooperative with the investigation, and her family says she won’t even speak to them, despite their efforts to check on Melodee.
“Throughout the investigation and up to this point, Ashlee has not been cooperative with the investigation, has not been able to provide us a reasonable explanation or evidence of Melodee’s well-being or location for that matter,” says Raquel Zick, spokesperson for the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office.
In cooperation with the FBI, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office has determined through investigation that Melodee was last seen in a rental car with her mother Ashlee on October 7th.
“We’ve been able to confirm a sighting as recent as October 7th, so we’re now looking from October 7th to when she was reported as missing to law enforcement on October 14th,” says Zick.
Detectives have determined that Ashlee may have driven Melodee in a white Chevrolet Malibu outside of Santa Barbara county, possibly as far away as the state of Nebraska.
The rented Chevy Malibu is no longer in Ashlee’s possession.
“That’s the thing,” says Kandice Valrie, who lives In Lompoc. “If she’s out of state, she has to be with, hopefully somebody that’s a family and there’s no known relatives for the mother. Other than her mother. And we don’t know where she’s at. I haven’t heard anything from her.”
Despite the community’s high level of interest, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s office is asking them to stand down from their own search efforts to allow investigators to do their jobs.
“Our job is not to interfere with the investigation,” says Valerie. “We’re just trying to find Melodee. We don’t want to cause any harm or mess up anything.”
The most recent known photograph is reported to be approximately two years old, and neighbors say her hair may be shorter and she may be thinner than in the photo.
If any members of the public have seen Melodee or if they have any information at all, they are encouraged to contact the sheriff’s criminal investigations division.
Those wishing to remain anonymous can provide information through the tip line at (805) 681-4171 or online by clicking here.
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