On October 7th, 2024, Ashlee Buzzard rented a car in Santa Barbara County, California, packed a few bags, and left town with her 9-year-old daughter Melodee.

By October 10th, she was back.
But Melodee wasn’t.

Police say the road trip took them from California to Nebraska and back again — 1,600 miles of unanswered questions.

Now, new surveillance photos show what investigators believe is Melodee at the rental car counter — her hair shorter, darker, maybe a wig.

But her mother isn’t talking.
Not to police. Not to family. Not to anyone.

And as the days pass, California authorities are racing to find out:
Where is Melodee Buzzard?

Security cameras at a car rental office in Santa Barbara County captured a woman and a little girl arriving that morning.
The timestamp reads 10:42 a.m.

Investigators say the woman is Ashlee Buzzard, and the girl beside her — possibly in a wig — is her daughter, Melodee.

The pair left that day for a sudden cross-country road trip, driving east toward Nebraska.
Family members weren’t told. School officials weren’t informed.

No one even knew they were gone — until Ashlee came back alone.

Three days later, Ashlee drove the same rental car back to California and returned it — solo.
When relatives asked where Melodee was, Ashlee reportedly gave vague, confusing answers.

By the time police were alerted, Melodee had been missing for days.

The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office launched an official missing child investigation, with the FBI later joining the case.

“She came back without her daughter and hasn’t cooperated,” police confirmed.

💔 Family in Shock

For four and a half years, Melodee’s father’s side of the family hadn’t seen her.
Her father, David Buzzard, died in a motorcycle crash when Melodee was just a baby. After that, relatives say Ashlee “cut off all contact.”

“That’s when it started,” said Elizabeth Meza, Melodee’s aunt on her father’s side.
“Her mental health declined… and she just slowly cut everyone out.”

Elizabeth remembers the last time she saw her niece — a tiny four-year-old clutching Easter presents from her grandmother.

“Ashlee came by, but she was acting strange — short hair, hood up, nervous. She didn’t stay long. That was the last time.”

Police say Ashlee has refused to provide a clear explanation about what happened during the trip.

“She’s not cooperative,” investigators said bluntly.

Authorities searched Ashlee’s home. Relatives described signs of neglect — rotting food in the fridge, uncollected school assignments, and a home frozen in time.

Child Protective Services (CPS) has been contacted multiple times by relatives, but answers remain scarce.

Elizabeth Meza says she learned Melodee was missing not from investigators — but from Facebook.

“Fifteen minutes after CPS called, I opened Facebook and saw the missing person post,” she told NewsNation’s Banfield.

🕵️ New Photo Evidence

The newly released surveillance image shows a young girl with a dark bob haircut standing beside Ashlee at a rental desk.
Police suspect the girl is wearing a wig, possibly to hide her identity.

Investigators confirmed Ashlee “is known to wear wigs” — a detail that adds to the suspicion that Melodee may have been disguised.

“We haven’t seen her in years,” Elizabeth said, her voice breaking.
“But those eyes — those are her father’s eyes. That’s Melodee.”

⚡ The Nebraska Clue

Authorities believe Ashlee and Melodee reached Nebraska before turning around and driving home.
Where they stayed — and what happened there — remains unclear.

Digital forensics teams are reviewing phone records, GPS data, and surveillance footage from gas stations and motels along the route.

So far, no confirmed sightings of Melodee after October 7th.

When the case hit national news, the FBI officially joined the search, signaling the growing concern that Melodee may have been abducted, hidden, or harmed.

“The moment I saw the FBI involved,” Elizabeth said, “my stomach dropped.”

The family says Ashlee’s behavior before the disappearance raised alarms.
She had withdrawn, isolated, and allegedly refused to let Melodee attend school regularly.

Relatives describe years of missed welfare checks and unanswered questions.

“We asked CPS again and again to check on her,” Elizabeth said. “They told us she was fine — or that she’d been adopted. None of it made sense.”

Across social media, outrage is growing over how Melodee could go unseen for so long.
Commenters accuse authorities of ignoring warning signs and failing to act until it was too late.

“If a mother refuses to say where her child is, that’s not privacy — that’s danger,” one viewer wrote.

On NewsNation’s Banfield, experts criticized CPS and local law enforcement for communication breakdowns.

Child advocate Nancy Grace commented on air:

“If this mother returned without her daughter, and law enforcement didn’t immediately detain her — that’s a serious procedural failure.”

Friends describe Ashlee as once bright and devoted, but increasingly erratic over the years following her husband’s death.

“She wasn’t the same after David died,” Elizabeth admitted. “She loved her daughter — but she was struggling.”

Now, as the investigation deepens, detectives are exploring mental health records, custody disputes, and financial activity that might hint at motive or intent.

Police have not labeled Ashlee a suspect — but her silence grows heavier by the day.

“If she knows where Melodee is,” one detective said, “she’s the only one who does.”

When the rental office image was finally shown to the Buzzard family, the room fell silent.
Aunt Elizabeth stared for several seconds before whispering:

“That’s her. That’s our girl.”

Even though years had passed, the resemblance was unmistakable — the same almond eyes, the same freckled cheeks.

But that moment of recognition also carried dread.

If that was truly Melodee in the picture…
then what happened after it was taken?

Did she make it back to California alive?
Or did the trail go cold somewhere along that long, lonely stretch of highway between California and Nebraska?

Today, the Buzzard family waits by the phone — hoping for an update, a lead, anything.

Elizabeth keeps Melodee’s childhood photos taped to her fridge, alongside a sticky note that reads:

“Don’t stop asking.”

The FBI and Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office continue to investigate, urging anyone with information to come forward.

“If you’ve seen Melodee or know where she is, call immediately,” police said in a press release.

Meanwhile, Ashlee Buzzard remains in California — silent, uncooperative, and at the center of a mystery that has captured the nation’s attention.

As national media continues to press the story, one haunting question lingers:

How does a child vanish in 2024 — with photos, cameras, GPS, and social workers — and still remain lost?

The case of Melodee Buzzard is no longer just about one missing girl.
It’s about a system that was warned, and a mother who won’t speak.

“We don’t want blame,” Elizabeth said softly.
“We just want her home.”

The last confirmed image of Melodee shows her standing beside her mother — her small face half-hidden behind a curtain of dark hair.

Whether it was hers or a wig, no one knows for sure.
But in her aunt’s words, it doesn’t matter.

“That’s her eyes. I’d know them anywhere.”

And somewhere out there, if she’s still alive, those same eyes are waiting to be seen again.