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

[Knox]

Denes said that in 2021 another of her sons temporarily took care of Melodee while Buzzard was hospitalized for several weeks. During this time Denes said she initiated the process to adopt Melodee because of concerns she had over Buzzard’s mental health and ability to care for the girl.

But before legal proceedings began, Buzzard was discharged from the hospital, picked up Melodee from school and left Santa Maria, Denes said.

Denes said Buzzard legally changed Melodee’s last name to match her own and cut off physical contact with the girl’s father’s family. The grandmother has little clue what Melodee’s life has looked like since then, but said Buzzard had occasionally asked her for money over the years.

Investigators say they believe Buzzard homeschooled Melodee for several years, according to the sheriff’s office. However, the California Department of Education has no record of Buzzard filing a private school affidavit, which is a requirement for homeschooling, according to department spokesperson Scott Roark.

A family’s nightmare: Inside the investigation into Melodee Buzzard’s disappearance

A month after 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard vanished, her relatives remain desperate for answers. But one person who may know what happened isn’t talking.

www.latimes.com

 

[TMich6811]

Denes said that in 2021 another of her sons temporarily took care of Melodee while Buzzard was hospitalized for several weeks. During this time Denes said she initiated the process to adopt Melodee because of concerns she had over Buzzard’s mental health and ability to care for the girl.

But before legal proceedings began, Buzzard was discharged from the hospital, picked up Melodee from school and left Santa Maria, Denes said.

Denes said Buzzard legally changed Melodee’s last name to match her own and cut off physical contact with the girl’s father’s family. The grandmother has little clue what Melodee’s life has looked like since then, but said Buzzard had occasionally asked her for money over the years.

Investigators say they believe Buzzard homeschooled Melodee for several years, according to the sheriff’s office. However, the California Department of Education has no record of Buzzard filing a private school affidavit, which is a requirement for homeschooling, according to department spokesperson Scott Roark.

A family’s nightmare: Inside the investigation into Melodee Buzzard’s disappearance

A month after 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard vanished, her relatives remain desperate for answers. But one person who may know what happened isn’t talking.

www.latimes.com

I would like to know if cps was involved after this or not? Because if there were concerns of safety they should have stayed open but it seems like there may have not been active cps?

 

[Knox]

I would like to know if cps was involved after this or not? Because if there were concerns of safety they should have stayed open but it seems like there may have not been active cps?

Doesn't quite make sense does it? They are very vocal now, why wouldn't they have continued to pursue custody back then? Especially sense they knew of her mental health issues?

 

[Emi]

sorry video disabled on the other side

 

[bluestsocks]

Doesn't quite make sense does it? They are very vocal now, why wouldn't they have continued to pursue custody back then? Especially sense they knew of her mental health issues?

I’m also somewhat puzzled they didn’t pursue custody, and frankly that they moved to try to adopt before trying that. Adoption of a child without their parent consenting requires termination of parental rights which involves a bunch of hoops and a ton of time and complicated legal processes, and often takes years, but they could have tried custody, guardianship and other options first that would have been faster and more likely to be successful to give them custody over her.

 

[TMich6811]

Feels convenient for them to now say all of this about her

 

[LadyL]

Crazy thought … what if the child we’ve seen in recent photos isn’t Melodee? She’s been gone for a while now. Would explain why Dad’s family isn’t allowed to see her, homeschooling, and why the child has disappeared. When the truancy thing ramped up, the gig was over.

Feel free to tell me I need to take a break from WS.

it's not stranger than anything else in this case

 

[flowershop]

People with bipolar disorder are known to have grandiose ideas and drive recklessly. I think this explains the multi state drive somehow. I am not sure if there is much rhyme or reason to the disappearance of MB if mom was having a mental health episode.

During manic episodes, people experience euphoria, high energy, and racing thoughts. They’re easily distracted, unusually irritable, and prone to risky behavior like shopping sprees and reckless driving. They’ll often find themselves talking quickly about many things at once and will go without sleeping.

Source: Prevention

 

[Lwieckowicz]

it's not stranger than anything else in this case

Someone likely addressed this but what confuses me is the photos of her she looks maybe 5-6 not 9 years old. Where are any updated photos? Like from the 2024 school year?

 

[katydid23]

It sounds like some sort of crime occurred in her home and potentially related to this. I wonder if melodee witnessed whatever happened

I wonder if she took MB away to protect her from blowback from whatever this other crime/altercation was about. Whatever caused LE to take concrete chunks/carpet, may have made someone else angry at AB. Would she take her daughter to an unknown place to protect her from that mess somehow?

 

[Lwieckowicz]

I wonder if she took MB away to protect her from blowback from whatever this other crime/altercation was about. Whatever caused LE to take concrete chunks/carpet, may have made someone else angry at AB. Would she take her daughter to an unknown place to protect her from that mess somehow?

Unlikely. If you were trying to protect your child you’d be honest with LE. The truth is going to come out. You only hide the truth when it’s so dark there’s no coming back from it in my opinion like Madalina Cojocari, why would a mother continue to lie after all that time? People were giving her mother the same out but just doesn’t make sense MOO

 

[TMich6811]

Someone likely addressed this but what confuses me is the photos of her she looks maybe 5-6 not 9 years old. Where are any updated photos? Like from the 2024 school year?

There are apparently none. Unless mom has them and isn’t releasing them and police haven’t gotten hands on them yet

But I guess why would she because she’s not saying Melodee is missing, everyone else is.

 

[truthfinder2019]

Just reposting..


Ashlee has not been named a person of interest in Melodee's disappearance, but was arrested on Friday, Nov. 7 on false imprisonment in a different case, the sheriff's office announced.

Melodee Buzzard's Mother Arrested on Unrelated Charges After Authorities Release Video of Pair

Melodee Buzzard's mother Ashlee Buzzard has allegedly refused to cooperate with police as they try to find the 9-year-old last seen a month ago.

people.com

Authorities remained tight-lipped about the new case but said it pertains to allegations that she once prevented a victim to leave a location.

She will be booked at the Northern Branch Jail with bail set at $100,000. Her booking photo does not meet the criteria for public release and will not be distributed.

Detectives Arrest Ashlee Buzzard on Unrelated Charges; Search for Melodee Ongoing – Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office

Proud to Protect and Serve Santa Barbara County The men and women of the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office are proud to protect the people of this beautiful county. Our dedicated team of professionals uphold our five core values, integrity, caring, courage, fairness and service, in all that...

www.sbsheriff.org

 

[lisasimpson2010]

Unlikely. If you were trying to protect your child you’d be honest with LE. The truth is going to come out. You only hide the truth when it’s so dark there’s no coming back from it in my opinion like Madalina Cojocari, why would a mother continue to lie after all that time? People were giving her mother the same out but just doesn’t make sense MOO

Someone with paranoia/MH problems is very unlikely to trust law enforcement. And plenty of people without MH problems distrust law enforcement too (sometimes for good reason). I know decent law-abiding people who would never contact LE under any circumstances, even to the point of not reporting being victims of serious crimes due to fear and distrust of LE.

It's also common for people with severe MH problems to lie and hide the truth in situations that are entirely innocent and innocuous.

The situation is of course deeply worrying, and as Melodee's disappearance continues, the higher the chance that something bad happened. I'm not saying this situation is innocent and innocuous, because obviously a child is missing under worrying circumstances.


Re Ashlee not having any photos of her daughter. Is there any source for this? She's obviously not been cooperating with law enforcement so they wouldn't have access to any of her photos. Posters have mentioned the FBI doing deep forensic analysis on her phone - is there an actual source for the FBI doing this? Or a source for LE having her unlocked phone in their possession, and a warrant that gives them unrestricted access to her phone's contents? LE can get phone ping data from the mobile carrier without having the physical phone in their possession.

 

[Sjöberg]

Hoping someone with medical/RL experience can chime in on the Bipolar aspect. I have some limited knowledge through a next door neighbor. She wasn't a great mom ...

Okey, sorry folks, I am now fully back in the health-related camp. This is exactly that diagnosis I previously thought she might have.

Bipolar is a really complicated illness. It doe not mean, that a person fluctuates between being sad and being happy. It means that the person experiences both clinical deperssive episodes and clinical (hypo)manic episodes.

Mania is a creepy thing to witness. It is that type of crazy, that you see that something is very wrong, but you just cannot put your finger on it. The person stops sleeping and eating, they have racing thoughts and disorganized thinking, they start to believe they have this or that really clever plan or good idea and they try to sell this ideas to other people, but none of it really makes sense. They talk and talk and you understand every word but not the meaning behind the words, it always feels like as if you are just missing one key point and then it'll all make sense, you think it's about you not really knowing that thing they are talking about so well, as they talk with such confidence and it all seems like it could be normal, but... you just don't get it. They go around actively, doing all sorts of stuff, with no logic in it. The risk taking increases, they get distracted easily, they start all sorts of things they they never finish.

What is worse, both the mania and the depression can have elements of psychosis during the worst episodes. Or the depression can go to the extremes of catatonia.
Bipolar is a lifelong deasease that, while manageable with meds, therapy and supportive family (and it does not look like Ashely had any, at that point), has an effect on the persons personality IMO even outside of the episodes. And it makes sense, that these drastic experiences and the way you frame them in your head would effect you, younkow. But, as you can read between the lines that I have some anecdotal examples in my life in addition to some professional MH background - it is really hard to watch a peson you know battling with this disease and slowly changing from the person you knew. But then again, we all change in time.

Here you can see the DSM-5 criteria for bipolar disorder.

So where does it leave us? IMO, yes, she might have killed Melodee (including both the options that would count under legally insane and also the ones that would still be MH-related but not enough for a legal defence). Yes, she might be hiding her in a semi-purmposeful manner to keep custody (but I tend to think her helpers would have contacted the police by now). Yes, she might even have given her to someone else for some crazy reasons. But IMO the most likely is that she left her somewhere with some instructuons, but never continued the plan (that never made sense in the first place) and that Melodee is now in some pretty random place, unaware of the search and not fully understanding her mums MH issues and probably in extreme danger (even if is mostly due to lack of resources - if she is somewhere on the road back home, the clock has been ticking for almost a month).

 

[Ontario Mom]

Re Ashlee not having any photos of her daughter. Is there any source for this? She's obviously not been cooperating with law enforcement so they wouldn't have access to any of her photos. Posters have mentioned the FBI doing deep forensic analysis on her phone - is there an actual source for the FBI doing this? Or a source for LE having her unlocked phone in their possession, and a warrant that gives them unrestricted access to her phone's contents? LE can get phone ping data from the mobile carrier without having the physical phone in their possession.

I've not seen a source for either, I believe both are speculation.

jmo

 

[truecrimel]

Another thought I’ve had - if you look at the map showing their suspected route home and compare it with the suggested route from Apple or google maps, (Green River, Utah - Lompoc, Cali) Panguitch, Utah isn’t included. The suggested route is 12 hr and 13 mins. If you add in Panguitch, it adds about an hour to the journey and you have to veer off the suggested path. Of course, if you’re driving halfway across the country, adding an hour or so to the trip isn’t drastic, but I do find it odd. Panguitch is tiny and there would’ve been no reason for Ashlee to be there unless she went out of her way to get there… IMO, there was some reason for that deviation and she potentially left Melodee somewhere in that area.

 

[Knox]

Denes said that in 2021 another of her sons temporarily took care of Melodee while Buzzard was hospitalized for several weeks. During this time Denes said she initiated the process to adopt Melodee because of concerns she had over Buzzard’s mental health and ability to care for the girl.

But before legal proceedings began, Buzzard was discharged from the hospital, picked up Melodee from school and left Santa Maria, Denes said.

Denes said Buzzard legally changed Melodee’s last name to match her own and cut off physical contact with the girl’s father’s family. The grandmother has little clue what Melodee’s life has looked like since then, but said Buzzard had occasionally asked her for money over the years.

Investigators say they believe Buzzard homeschooled Melodee for several years, according to the sheriff’s office. However, the California Department of Education has no record of Buzzard filing a private school affidavit, which is a requirement for homeschooling, according to department spokesperson Scott Roark.

A family’s nightmare: Inside the investigation into Melodee Buzzard’s disappearance

A month after 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard vanished, her relatives remain desperate for answers. But one person who may know what happened isn’t talking.

www.latimes.com

Sorry for quoting myself, but this make be a key point that’s important.

The quoted article states in 2021 Ashlee picked Melodee up from school and left Santa Maria with her. From that point on, the paternal family lost contact.

The California Dept. of Education says there is no Homeschool affidavit on file for Melodee. It seems likely she has not been enrolled in any school based education program since 2021?

But in August this year, she takes Melodee to Lompoc Unified and enrolls her. Had she been teaching her at home? I wonder what prompted Ashlee to make the change this year?

If all this is true, Melodee may not have been enrolled in school since kindergarten. Puts a different light on the actions we’re seeing from Ashlee.

 

[Gigglingtoes]

Crazy thought … what if the child we’ve seen in recent photos isn’t Melodee? She’s been gone for a while now. Would explain why Dad’s family isn’t allowed to see her, homeschooling, and why the child has disappeared. When the truancy thing ramped up, the gig was over.

Feel free to tell me I need to take a break from WS.

I

Denes said that in 2021 another of her sons temporarily took care of Melodee while Buzzard was hospitalized for several weeks. During this time Denes said she initiated the process to adopt Melodee because of concerns she had over Buzzard’s mental health and ability to care for the girl.

But before legal proceedings began, Buzzard was discharged from the hospital, picked up Melodee from school and left Santa Maria, Denes said.

Denes said Buzzard legally changed Melodee’s last name to match her own and cut off physical contact with the girl’s father’s family. The grandmother has little clue what Melodee’s life has looked like since then, but said Buzzard had occasionally asked her for money over the years.

Investigators say they believe Buzzard homeschooled Melodee for several years, according to the sheriff’s office. However, the California Department of Education has no record of Buzzard filing a private school affidavit, which is a requirement for homeschooling, according to department spokesperson Scott Roark.

A family’s nightmare: Inside the investigation into Melodee Buzzard’s disappearance

A month after 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard vanished, her relatives remain desperate for answers. But one person who may know what happened isn’t talking.

www.latimes.com

UGH. Not registering her and asking for money from the bio dad’s mom. Not good

 

[lynxofsd]

Highly unlikely that Melodee has had any useful pedagogical education (home school or otherwise) during her childhood, given the mother's issues. She is way behind her peers unless she is doing a lot of self-education on her own. The rest of her perspective and knowledge about life is being overseen by a mentally unstable authority figure.