CA CA - Melodee Buzzard, 9, Vandenberg Village, 14 Oct 2025

[steff13]

My child's father died so we receive Social Security survivor benefits, and will continue to until my child is 18. It's not a lot each month. It might cover her rent, depending how much it was, but it's not enough to live on. I suppose it depends on what other public assistance Melodee's mother might have been receiving but it would be tight. (Also in our case, no DNA sample was required. They just needed his death certificate and my child's birth certificate which named him as the father.)

The amount depends on how much the father paid into Social Security while he was alive. He was 40 when he died so he probably had been working for quite some time. Kids get 75% of their parents' benefit.

That combined with cash assistance that's available to families in California as well as SNAP might well be enough for her to live on. Especially if she receives housing assistance.

 

[CptCari]

I am a big supporter of homeschooling but these cases are why I believe there should be mandatory state-sanctioned check-ins and/or testing. I hate to see a child slip through the cracks- whatever the reason. The mother should be able to produce the child and/or their whereabouts.

 

[Knox]

Just thinking out loud... Mom would presumably need to work to support the two of them since there's no one else in the household contributing to the expenses, at least so far as we have heard. How could mom be working and also homeschooling a child at the same time? Perhaps she worked nights or worked from home, but was she leaving Melodee alone during the hours she was working? We don't have any information about mom's employment but I would assume she'd have to have a pretty well paying job to afford to live in California (not exactly the cheapest place to live in the country...) and pay for childcare for a school age child who isn't in school. A daycare center wouldn't offer that. She'd need a private sitter. It doesn't sound like there is a grandparent or any extended family in the picture who could provide that. Just more unanswered questions. Where are you Melodee?

Melodee’s dad died. She would be eligible for SS benefits until she turned 18, I think the minimum is $1100/mo. Also mom could be receiving state benefits including housing and childcare. So she wouldn’t necessarily heve to work, IMO.

 

[mickey2942]

I am a big supporter of homeschooling but these cases are why I believe there should be mandatory state-sanctioned check-ins and/or testing. I hate to see a child slip through the cracks- whatever the reason. The mother should be able to produce the child and/or their whereabouts.

Exactly. Let's say someone asked me where my kids were, it would take 2 seconds for me to answer. If they were out, or with their Dad, here is his phone number.

99.99% of people asked that question could answer it in a heartbeat.

LEO got a search warrant already. I bet that there will be charges soon.

 

[truthfinder2019]

As for the girl’s relatives, they say they have been cut off from Melodee for years. Melodee's aunt on her father's side says they found out about Melodee’s disappearance through Facebook.

“We haven't seen her in over four years due to the mother not allowing the family to see her,” said Lizabeth Meza, Melodee’s aunt. She describes her niece as being sweet and kind.

Neighbors, family concerned following Vandenberg Village 9-year-old’s disappearance

Authorities say they’ve spoken with Melodee Buzzard’s mother, Ashlee, but that she hasn't provided information as to where her daughter may be.

www.ksby.com

 

[Knox]

As for the girl’s relatives, they say they have been cut off from Melodee for years. Melodee's aunt on her father's side says they found out about Melodee’s disappearance through Facebook.

“We haven't seen her in over four years due to the mother not allowing the family to see her,” said Lizabeth Meza, Melodee’s aunt. She describes her niece as being sweet and kind.

Neighbors, family concerned following Vandenberg Village 9-year-old’s disappearance

Authorities say they’ve spoken with Melodee Buzzard’s mother, Ashlee, but that she hasn't provided information as to where her daughter may be.

www.ksby.com

I wonder why she cut off her child’s contact with the father‘s family? How heartbreaking for them.

 

[steff13]

I wonder why she cut off her child’s contact with the father‘s family? How heartbreaking for them.

If this is her, it looks like she tried to become emancipated from her own family in 2002.

Maybe she doesn't have a lot of "warm fuzzy" feelings towards family?

Superior Court of California, County of Santa Barbara

portal.sbcourts.org

 

[Ab801]

Really hoping there is some reasonable explanation for this, but I fear that won't be the case.

 

[Knox]

Really hoping there is some reasonable explanation for this, but I fear that won't be the case.

If there were, when the cops knock at your door, you tell them where she can be found. Problem solved. If that doesn’t happen, arrest them.

What’s taking so long?

 

[Eli9]

If there were, when the cops knock at your door, you tell them where she can be found. Problem solved. If that doesn’t happen, arrest them.

What’s taking so long?

Yeah. I really don't understand what's going on here unless she presented some sort of mental health/illness when LE first arrived and they just want to keep her talking, gain her trust. Honestly though my gut wants her locked up until she can produce a living Melodee.

 

[steff13]

Neighbors, family concerned following Vandenberg Village 9-year-old’s disappearance

Authorities say they’ve spoken with Melodee Buzzard’s mother, Ashlee, but that she hasn't provided information as to where her daughter may be.

www.ksby.com

A couple parts of this article I thought were interesting:

Later in the afternoon, the woman was seen loading things into her car and then driving off. When she returned to the home again, the back door of her small SUV had a large yellow scrape and the door was dented. She again declined to speak with KSBY.

This was a reporter talking about Ashlee. I took that to mean that she had some kind of an accident when she left the home and then came back. Which is probably apropos of nothing, but still weird.

This this:
Next door, Kasey Monreal says her mother thought she saw the young girl fairly recently, but her home security footage told a different story.
"She thought that when she first said, 'Oh, I think I saw her just recently',” Monreal said, when referencing a conversation with her mother. She said, looking back, it had been longer since the girl was seen on the surveillance footage.

I wonder if this means they saw her on the footage and it was longer ago than they thought, or if they only have footage from, say, the last six months and she never appeared on the footage?

 

[Teche]

As for the girl’s relatives, they say they have been cut off from Melodee for years. Melodee's aunt on her father's side says they found out about Melodee’s disappearance through Facebook.

“We haven't seen her in over four years due to the mother not allowing the family to see her,” said Lizabeth Meza, Melodee’s aunt. She describes her niece as being sweet and kind.

Neighbors, family concerned following Vandenberg Village 9-year-old’s disappearance

Authorities say they’ve spoken with Melodee Buzzard’s mother, Ashlee, but that she hasn't provided information as to where her daughter may be.

www.ksby.com

Does Ashlee have a relationship with her parents and or siblings?

 

[truthfinder2019]

I wonder why she cut off her child’s contact with the father‘s family? How heartbreaking for them.

MH issues? Family disputes?

 

[truthfinder2019]

Melodee Buzzard's aunt, Lizabeth Meza, told USA TODAY that the girl's father died several years ago in a motorcycle accident.

A 9-year-old girl hasn't been seen in a year. Police are now searching for her.

A school administrator reported 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard's "prolonged absence", the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office said.

eu.usatoday.com

It must have been heartbreaking for the family to first lose a son and brother and then not even be able to see his child anymore. Reminds me of Hayden Manis case.

 

[Chimera]

Maybe give the mom a timeframe to produce Melodee or where she is, and then place her under arrest if she is unable to do so ?
Different states have varying laws to cover this so I don't know for sure.

Where are you, Melodee with the bubbly smile and bright eyes ??

 

[truthfinder2019]

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=pfbid0mWPoQkNuJSK1fDGyBMbohmECDcWD1nx6N9ZbXviGtosxtuhLcdsU7KrqUzXBLfJfl&id=100066843960986

 

[truthfinder2019]

There is a photo of what seems to be Melodee in May 2023 if you search the address (that is publicly found ) in Google Earth

Cannot link from Google Earth, but found it in Google Street view

Street View of 550 Mars Ave · Google Maps

550 Mars Ave, Lompoc, CA 93436

maps.app.goo.gl

 

[mickey2942]

Missing 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard was seen 2 months ago, investigators say

California authorities trying to track down a missing 9-year-old girl now say she was last spotted in August 2025.

abcnews.go.com

The time line keeps changing here. This article says she was last seen August, 2025. But no reference regarding who or where Melodee was seen.

 

[teeby]

I don't think refusing to tell law enforcement where a child is provides probable cause for an arrest. You need evidence of a crime for that, and simply not knowing where a child is doesn't rise to that level.

 

[Eli9]

There is a photo of what seems to be Melodee in May 2023 if you search the address (that is publicly found ) in Google Earth

Cannot link from Google Earth, but found it in Google Street view

Street View of 550 Mars Ave · Google Maps

550 Mars Ave, Lompoc, CA 93436

maps.app.goo.gl

View attachment 620414

Send this in to LE. (805) 681-4150. Or anonymous (805) 681-4171