Found Deceased CA - Melodee Buzzard, 9, Vandenberg Village, 14 Oct 2025 *Mother arrested*

[Knox]

Why, in California has CPS not opened a file for Melodee and hauled AB into family court? Would we know if that happened? In the New York case mentioned in this thread the mother is being held on a civil court contempt warrant and is having her case held in family court.

At her initial appearance the judge didn't allow media at the ask of the defense that the mother might reveal information about her son Jacob. She didn't

Media was allowed at the most recent appearance.

In the other case here are the circumstances:

• Someone reported possible abuse to CPS.
• CPS responded, she told them she doesn't have a child - they found a birth certificate.
• CPS asked LE to do a welfare-check.
• LE could not locate the boy, she was initially taken to a hospital, later they took her into custody. She's being held on a civil contempt warrant.
• Not sure when CPS visited the home, but LE did the welfare check on 9/26/25. She was taken in to custody a few days later (didn't find an exact date, news source said early October).
• Where Is Jacob? His Mother Won’t Say, and the Police Cannot Find Him.

I realize the circumstances are different. In Melodee's case, it was the school that requested LE's welfare check. But we all saw the news broadcasts which showed CPS at the home simultaneously. So we know they are involved.

Does this whole thing spin differently due to the signing of AB 461 on October 1 this year? BTW, that law doesn't go into effect until 1/1/26.

https://a26.asmdc.org/press-releases/20251001-governor-newsom-signs-assemblymember-patrick-ahrens-legislation-ab-461#:~:text=SACRAMENTO%2C%20CA%20%E2%80%94%20Governor%20Gavin%20Newsom,including%20the%20California%20State%20PTA.

 

[Cedars]

At some point, imo, the State has the right to demand to know where one if it's minor residents is and to confirm safety. A parent is responsible for knowing that information. Lori Daybell was put in jail because she wouldn't reveal to the State of Idaho where her children were.

Is it because the case involves crossing state lines so "nobody" has jurisdiction?

I don't get it.

jmopinion

Lori D was extradicted back to Idaho 3 months after the welfare check. At.that point, police weren't starting from zero, hoping she'd tell them something, and of course, she never told them anything. Police had already discovered the whole conspiracy, they just needed to put together details. IMO, they hoped Chad and Lori would leak info during their phone calls.

I think police prefer.to build a strong case first, rather than arrest someone without any prospects of upgrading the charges, and therefore having to let them go. They may believe they can prod her into a confession while she's free, through some police trick, or have her let her guard down and.then catch her unawares, etc.

JMO

 

[katydid23]

While I'm as interested as anyone else where Melodee might be, we don't have any evidence to suggest that Ashlee killed her own child.

No evidence of a murder, agreed. . But all of the wigs, and fake license plates, and backroad detours, and secrecy do raise some red flags.

Sure, on the surface the road trip can be perceived to be suspicious. But now it seems like the whole world is demanding to know where Melodee is, and Ashlee is well within her rights to them to mind their own business.

It's true that she doesn't owe us any answers about where her daughter is. But she does owe the authorities some answers.

It is not legal to just hide a child away that is legally required to be in school or home schooled and needs to have regular childhood medical care.

For all we know she may have dropped Melodee off to spend time with an interstate friend.

It is not ok to just 'drop a 9 yr old off' with interstate friends. CPS has the authority to inquire about a situation like that.

When my mom's best friend had a family emergency and she needed us to care for her 11 yr old for several months, they had to have signed paperwork giving my parents legal permission to take her to the doctor, go to her school parent/teacher meetings, etc.

 

[katydid23]

Wonder why Ashlee doesn't own a car with all this money she's supposedly making from drug trafficking?
IMO.

She spends so much on Ubers and rentals and deliveries, maybe she can't afford one?

 

[libraryg]

If Melodee is indeed diagnosed autistic, would Ashlee get money from the state for her care? If so, that's another revenue stream.

 

[Cedars]

No evidence of a murder, agreed. . But all of the wigs, and fake license plates, and backroad detours, and secrecy do raise some red flags.

It's true that she doesn't owe us any answers about where her daughter is. But she does owe the authorities some answers.

It is not legal to just hide a child away that is legally required to be in school or home schooled and needs to have regular childhood medical care.


It is not ok to just 'drop a 9 yr old off' with interstate friends. CPS has the authority to inquire about a situation like that.

When my mom's best friend had a family emergency and she needed us to care for her 11 yr old for several months, they had to have signed paperwork giving my parents legal permission to take her to the doctor, go to her school parent/teacher meetings, etc.

IMO the lack of an arrest doesn't mean LE/family services aren't deeply suspicious, or that they have just decided to mind their own business.

People who've committed crimes have a very strong incentive not to tell the truth. IMO, police just take that for granted and don't even bother asking after the first interviews.

They just get on with trying to solve the case. Each case is different, it's not a strict formula.

JMO

 

[swanniee11]

I'm not a lawyer but I agree that there needs be something they can hold her on or hospitalize her, her own mother says she has mental issues, there is a minor that is not accounted for and why are schools obligated to report if nothing is done. If she is collecting 1 dime for Melodee or even claiming as a dependant she should have to prove that Melodee is ok. IMO

 

[TMich6811]

The literal number of kids missing without a damned trace is disgusting.

 

[truecrimel]

Really great interview with Melodee’s half sister (paternal side). There’s a new age progressed photo. Also, according to the paternal family, they had no clue Melodee was back in Ashlee’s custody following the most recent time she lost custody. Ashlee told them that Melodee had been adopted by friends who wouldn’t let the family see her.

 

[Eli9]

Really great interview with Melodee’s half sister (paternal side). There’s a new age progressed photo. Also, according to the paternal family, they had no clue Melodee was back in Ashlee’s custody following the most recent time she lost custody. Ashlee told them that Melodee had been adopted by friends who wouldn’t let the family see her.

BBM
Oh Ashlee.

 

[Knox]

Really great interview with Melodee’s half sister (paternal side). There’s a new age progressed photo. Also, according to the paternal family, they had no clue Melodee was back in Ashlee’s custody following the most recent time she lost custody. Ashlee told them that Melodee had been adopted by friends who wouldn’t let the family see her.

This is where I feel the circumstances go left. Why would the paternal family take Ashlee’s word for anything? Particularly as it relates to Melodee, who they had custody of at various times?

 

[Lebowski]

A little late with his theory, this has been going around for a month.
Bet LE wishes he would just go away.

Garcia has his own theory of what happened to Melodee.

"I suspect that Ashlee may actually be involved in some kind of trafficking, whether it be drug trafficking," he said. "I don't believe it's human trafficking, but all of the elements I've looked at fit the criteria of someone that's going to be a transporter."

He said this wasn't Ashlee's first trip to the Midwest, and police said she had rented cars before.

Garcia said that in those types of operations, the transporter takes the drugs to one location, gets handed money, and is responsible for bringing the money back to the sender.

"If something has gone wrong or if, for some reason, the people receiving — the people expecting any kind of funds to come back — had any kind of problems with Ashlee, they may have asked her or may have told her to leave Melodee with someone until she completed the project."

Private investigator working on missing girl's case has new theory about her disappearance

A private investigator working on Melodee Buzzard's case has a new theory about her disappearance.9-year-old Melodee went missing out of California last month

kutv.com

i've had this thought too. she was up to something criminal, and someone took melodee as collateral/hostage. just speculation, but it is a possibility.

 

[Lebowski]

stepping back... i agree, sadly, with whoever was saying that given how long she's been missing, the odds are she's no longer alive.

what are the logical possibilities here?

Spoiler: list of possibilities

1) ashlee intended for melodee to come back to lompoc at the end of the road trip, but for some reason she didn't

1a) ...due to a tragic accident

1b) ...due to something melodee herself did
1b1) she got lost
1b2) she committed suicide (!?)

1c) ... due to something ashlee did
1c1) ashlee decided to abandon her
1c2) ashlee decided to leave her with people
1c2a) ... with someone they knew
1c2b) ... with strangers
1c3) ashlee killed her - unplanned

1d) ... due to something someone else did
1d1) someone they knew
1d1a) kidnapping / took against her will
1d1b) killed her
1d2) stranger
1d2a) kidnapping / took against her will
1d2b) killed her

2) ashlee never intended for melodee to come back with her at the end of the road trip

2a) she planned to leave her with someone
2a1) family/friends/etc.
2a2) criminal associate, for babysitting
2a3) sold her into trafficking
2a4) stranger

2b) she planned to kill her

is that a fair and exhaustive list?

now, we can put some odds on some of these. i'll use color-coding and comments

Spoiler: list of possibilities

possible
questionable, but who knows
doubtful
very doubtful


1) ashlee intended for melodee to come back to lompoc at the end of the road trip, but for some reason she didn't

1a) ...due to a tragic accident (why no calls to 911? no time taken to process/grieve/etc.?)

1b) ...due to something melodee herself did
1b1) she got lost (why no calls to 911? why no time spent searching? ashlee just drove home??)
1b2) she committed suicide (!?) (almost nonexistent in children under 10)

1c) ... due to something ashlee did
1c1) ashlee decided to abandon her (seems random and at odds with fighting to keep custody)
1c2) ashlee decided to leave her with people
1c2a) ... with someone they knew (decided on the spur of the moment??)
1c2b) ... with strangers (only reason not red is b/c she reportedly told tyler she left her with strangers)
1c3) ashlee killed her - unplanned (no specific evidence for it, but nothing rules it out. also,statistics)

1d) ... due to something someone else did
1d1) someone they knew
1d1a) kidnapping / took against her will (if ashlee was involved in something illicit ... maybe?)
1d1b) killed her (possible, if ashlee was involved in something illicit. but you'd expect ashlee to be killed too; or if ashlee was left alive, that she wouldn't just drive home and act like nothing's up.)
1d2) stranger
1d2a) kidnapping / took against her will (why no calls to 911? no effort to search? just drove home??)
1d2b) killed her (why no calls to 911? why was ashlee herself not also killed? no pausing to grieve or anything? just drove home?)

2) ashlee never intended for melodee to come back with her at the end of the road trip

2a) she planned to leave her with someone
2a1) family/friends/etc. (done to keep the state from taking melodee away? fits several lines of evidence IMO. ... but this is probably going on longer and involving more LE heat than they planned. ... so where is she?)
2a2) criminal associate, for babysitting (why on earth would you plan to do this??)
2a3) sold her into trafficking (very rare for a parent to sell their own child into trafficking)
2a4) stranger (only reason not red is b/c she reportedly told tyler she left her with strangers)

2b) she planned to kill her (no specific evidence for it, but nothing rules it out. also,statistics)

 

[Inthedetails]

This is where I feel the circumstances go left. Why would the paternal family take Ashlee’s word for anything? Particularly as it relates to Melodee, who they had custody of at various times?

I hear ya, but then I think if I were in the same circumstance and an estranged family member (or even not estranged) told me their child was with CPS and then adopted out, it wouldn't occur to me to verify, if that's even possible given privacy rules. It wouldn't cross my mind that someone would actully make up that info.


jmopinion

 

[tlcya]

This is where I feel the circumstances go left. Why would the paternal family take Ashlee’s word for anything? Particularly as it relates to Melodee, who they had custody of at various times?

I mean, what was their recourse? Legally, I mean?

Melodee is full on missing and has been a while now and yet even seasoned trained investigators have been unable to force her to reveal the location of her child.

 

[Justice101]

I mean, what was their recourse? Legally, I mean?

Melodee is full on missing and has been a while now and yet even seasoned trained investigators have been unable to force her to reveal the location of her child.

Reminds me of the deafening silence from Lori Vallow Daybell about the whereabouts of her children.

Wasn't she initially charged and held for child abandonment?

 

[Knox]

I hear ya, but then I think if I were in the same circumstance and an estranged family member (or even not estranged) told me their child was with CPS and then adopted out, it wouldn't occur to me to verify, if that's even possible given privacy rules. It wouldn't cross my mind that someone would actully make up that info.


jmopinion

I don’t think what you describe is close to what the circumstances were. The paternal family (Uncle) had custody of Melody at CPS’s request the last time Ashlee was hospitalized for treatment.

Prior to that even they knew she had mental health issues and that Ashlee’s older daughter had been permanently removed from her custody. Further the Grandmother said she had started the legal process to gain custody.

There is something about this that just doesn’t make sense to me. But far be it for me to criticize, family dynamics are complex and there are parts of the story that are not being explained for personal reasons.

 

[Knox]

I mean, what was their recourse? Legally, I mean?

Melodee is full on missing and has been a while now and yet even seasoned trained investigators have been unable to force her to reveal the location of her child.

You mean when the family (Uncle) was caring for Melodee when Ashlee was hospitalized? Then she was released, picked Melodee up from her school and supposedly “left the area” with her. What was their legal recourse?

If CPS requested them to care for Melodee during that time. Isn’t there some legal documentation that occurs as part of that process?

 

[Stunned]

You mean when the family (Uncle) was caring for Melodee when Ashlee was hospitalized? Then she was released, picked Melodee up from her school and supposedly “left the area” with her. What was their legal recourse?

If CPS requested them to care for Melodee during that time. Isn’t there some legal documentation that occurs as part of that process?

Wouldn't that of become a thread on here?
AMBER ALERT Melody Buzzard, 9 Taken by Noncustodial mother
Etc., etc
Why wasn't it?

 

[LaborDayRN]

Understanding California Homeschool Laws: What You Need to Know

Get a clear overview of California homeschool laws, legal options, and requirements. Learn how to comply and confidently start homeschooling in California.

www.hsc.org