Melodee Buzzard, 9, missing after cross-country trip with mother who used fake license plates and wigs to avoid detection, Santa Barbara police say

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The mother of a missing “at-risk” 9-year-old girl reportedly told a man she’s accused of falsely imprisoning that she knows where her daughter is.

An investigation into 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard’s location was opened by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office on Oct. 14 after a school administrator reported she hadn’t attended school for a “prolonged” period of time. The sheriff’s office said Melodee’s mother, Ashlee, wasn’t able to give a verifiable explanation to deputies when asked where her daughter was. Deputies said that Ashlee has “remained uncooperative and has not confirmed Melodee’s location or welfare.”

Tyler Brewer, who said he’s a court officer, said in a statement that Ashlee told him information that she “appeared to regret disclosing,” pulled out a box cutter and locked the doors to her home, ABC News reported. He claimed Ashlee “became visibly distressed after sharing information she appeared to regret disclosing” when she allegedly pulled out the box cutter and refused to let him leave.

Brewer told NewsNation that Ashlee revealed to him where Melodee was located and who she was with.

However, Brewer said he has concerns if the information Ashlee told him was true. Buzzard was charged with false imprisonment on Nov. 7 and a judge allowed her to be released from jail but must wear an ankle monitor and cannot contact Brewer.

Lily Denes, Melodee’s paternal grandmother, told KTLA she was frustrated that Ashlee was released from jail, saying that the 9-year-old’s name wasn’t brought up during the court hearing.

“They let her go, and they didn’t even [say] anything about the baby missing,” Denes said, adding she was “really mad.”

Denes also claimed that Ashlee was previously treated for mental health issues.

“She has a record of being in the loony hospital in Camarillo twice … I knew she was an odd lady; I knew it from the first time I met her. I knew something was wrong with her,” Denes said.

According to authorities, Ashlee left California with her 9-year-old daughter on Oct. 7 and traveled as far as Nebraska in a Chevrolet Malibu bearing a California license plate, with the return trip including Kansas.

On Oct. 8, the Malibu was seen with a New York license plate. Detectives said the New York plate doesn’t belong to Ashlee, and they think it was used as a “false or switched plate to avoid detection.” When the car was returned to the rental car agency in California, the original license plate was allegedly placed back on the car.

Investigators believe that the Malibu traveled through several areas between California, Arizona, Utah and Nevada on or around Oct. 9, according to the sheriff’s office.

“Somewhere along that route is where we know Ashlee was no longer with Melodee,” Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Raquel Zick told KUTV.

Detectives released video from a rental car location in Lompoc, California, showing Ashlee and Melodee Buzzard apparently both wearing wigs.

“The footage corresponds to previously released still images and shows both Ashlee and Melodee wearing wigs. Investigators also believe that Ashlee swapped wigs throughout the trip, changing to a darker wig that is similar in color and style to the one Melodee was seen wearing. This change in appearance is believed to have been intentional to avoid recognition during travel,” the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office said.