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

[Knox]

The youtube video at the link below, has more of the conversation with the gas station employee who says she saw Ashlee in Junction, Utah. It was shared in the MSM link from KUTV. Starts at 1:47. Employee states the "purple haired" adult woman with Ashlee, was late 20's- mid 30's - couldn't see if anyone else was in the car. The most important damn question was not asked - what color was the car?

Where is Melodee Buzzard? Wig-wearing Mom arrested, but no sign of missing child

Every new detail about the disappearance of Melodee Buzzard takes this ongoing missing child investigation into stranger territory.

kutv.com

 

[Deedee102901]

Thanks for the information!! ^^^ BBM - do you have specific information on what district she was enrolled in for second grade? What about third grade? There's a gap there which is confusing me.

I'm not 100% on this, but I'm going to assume based on what I've read, she was enrolled in Lompoc unified School district, at Mission Valley Independent Study School. School started August 12 for them, so by the date they called the welfare check in, she had not attended anything in the 35 active school days.
I'm not 100% sure on her grade either, but going by her birthdate she would be in 4th this year.
According to public record they have had this address for 2 yrs, so she was enrolled 3rd grade as well. It was reported she's been homeschooled (independent study) the past few years, so possibly 2nd grade also.
The timeline suggests that when Ashlee got out of the hospital, and rolled up to the public school to pull MB out, changed her surname, and moved... They landed in the current home., and enrolled in independent study. That could have been the beginning of her 2nd year, and after the school photo was taken since it is a Fall photo.
Did I cover the gap? If not let me know.

 

[Deedee102901]

Somehow she was arrested barefoot but wearing her purse? Makes zero sense.

Ya, crazy right?
I strongly hope that was Ashlees decision. She seems to have been cooperative, so if she asked for her shoes, there would be no reason to deny. LE that are minding their P's and Q's would even suggest she grab them. If for any reason it was not by her choice, she could blow things up later by saying she received inhumane and unfair treatment. That has legal implications. She could state anything she says was nonsense due to her discomfort and treatment she would say anything to speed things up. And LE wouldn't be able to claim they were left behind due to a fear for safety or self harm... Because she took her purse.

 

[Deedee102901]

I keep seeing this claim that AB was with a purple haired individual that was NOT MB, because she looked like an adult in her late 20s early 30s. So Melodee MUST have vanished right before that.
I have a huge problem with that, and I hope LE is not focusing their search on that side of Utah.
My problem is, 1 single lady said that. She made that claim based off an extremely fast encounter with a wild haired random woman peeking her head in the door of the store, making a fast comment about some cats, getting a fast reply, then leaving. This clerk was inside the building so at best she got a glance at the passenger through 2 different windows. The store window and the car. If she came around the counter and followed AB outside, she's still getting a glance through a window. A glance of a passenger with purple hair. No one asked her to describe the person's clothing. Was she dressed in leggings? Did she see her sitting, or standing? hoodie? Anything besides the hair? How could she remember this from that long ago if nothing told her it was important to lock it in her brain. At the time it was just a random incident. Nothing remarkable. Except the wild blonde wig, and the crazy purple hair. Crazy for that area of Utah at least.
Do you all remember 2 weeks ago when LE gave us the cropped image of Melodee in Enterprise? It was debated wether it was Melodee or Ashlee. So many were dead set that was not a child, but a grown woman. The fuzzy image was picked apart. It wasn't until the perspective photo was released with AB in it that people admitted it could in fact be a child.
So this woman was asked to dig out a fuzzy memory of a random encounter of a random guest from almost 2 weeks prior. She had 2 things she remembered. The rest would be fuzzy. The view was not clear. Chances are, she assumed at the time the purple hair was a mature (in age) color choice, so her subconscious made the decision for her... Young woman, not child.
Logically thinking, it was likely Melodee wearing one of Mom's wigs. Maybe Melodee enjoyed them. I know my granddaughter gets ecstatic when I put one of my wigs on her.

 

[Knox]

I'm not 100% on this, but I'm going to assume based on what I've read, she was enrolled in Lompoc unified School district, at Mission Valley Independent Study School. School started August 12 for them, so by the date they called the welfare check in, she had not attended anything in the 35 active school days.
I'm not 100% sure on her grade either, but going by her birthdate she would be in 4th this year.
According to public record they have had this address for 2 yrs, so she was enrolled 3rd grade as well. It was reported she's been homeschooled (independent study) the past few years, so possibly 2nd grade also.
The timeline suggests that when Ashlee got out of the hospital, and rolled up to the public school to pull MB out, changed her surname, and moved... They landed in the current home., and enrolled in independent study. That could have been the beginning of her 2nd year, and after the school photo was taken since it is a Fall photo.
Did I cover the gap? If not let me know.

The Lompoc Unified School District said Friday that 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard, missing from Vandenberg Village, was first enrolled in the district just two months ago and was last seen in August, narrowing the timeline in a case that has drawn widespread attention.

In a written statement released Friday afternoon, district officials said Melodee and her mother, Ashlee Buzzard, visited Mission Valley Independent School in August to begin the registration process for independent study, a program in which students complete coursework off campus under teacher supervision.

Lompoc school district narrows timeline in case of missing 9-year-old, Melodee Buzzard

The Lompoc Unified School District said Friday that 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard, missing from Vandenberg Village, was first enrolled in the district just two months ago and was last seen in

santamariatimes.com

"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". Linked in a MSM story a couple of pages ago.

Melodee hasn't been previously enrolled in any homeschool program, IMO.

 

[BlaiseFinlay]

The thing that appears to distinguish this case from other missing child cases is that, at the time the truancy checks began, Melodee was alive according to authorities.

My guess on the current charge is that it’s a situation that came to light during interviews they conducted as part of this investigation.

Regarding the witness sighting, we have no reason to believe that LE considers that sighting to be credible.

 

[Izzylizzy]

The Woman in the Purple Wig: A Hidden Passenger? | New Clue in Melodee Buzzard Case​

 

[realhumanbeing]

Somehow she was arrested barefoot but wearing her purse? Makes zero sense.

Maybe she had just painted her toenails and refused to put shoes on lest she ruin them.

 

[Emi]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1987943507772723488

 

[Justice101]

I saw that, wondering why the school took so long to report their concerns to LE? If mom sent Melodee to live elsewhere, it would have been an easy misunderstanding to clear up with LE, but evidently that didn’t happen. Super sus …

Just seeing about this. So sad.. yes, if she can't state who is looking after the girl, there is a BIG PROBLEM. I think we all fear the worst.

Can someone give me like 5 bullet points on what evidence we know so far?

 

[Justice101]

It's probably already been theorized here....but could her mother have "sold" her to someone for child trafficking???

 

[Lebowski]

Just seeing about this. So sad.. yes, if she can't state who is looking after the girl, there is a BIG PROBLEM. I think we all fear the worst.

Can someone give me like 5 bullet points on what evidence we know so far?

directly relevant:

- the mom, ashlee, rented a car and took melodee on a road trip, leaving on 10/7
- ashlee returned without melodee on or after 10/9
- the trip appears to have extended all the way out to nebraska and kansas
- the last sighting with melodee was on 10/9, on the return leg, somewhere around the colorado-utah border
- at times during the trip, ashlee wore a wig and swapped out the rental car's CA plate with a fake/stolen NY one
- LE made a welfare check at the house on 10/14. ashlee was there, melodee was not.
- LE says ashlee has given them "no clear explanation" for melodee's whereabouts and is "not cooperating" with the search for melodee

possibly relevant:

- both extended families (ashlee's own and that of melodee's deceased father) say ashlee has mental health problems
- years earlier, there was 1 (or possibly 2?) incident(s) where there was a possibility of adoption by or transfer of custody to family. i'm not clear on all the details here, but i believe this all ended with ashlee cutting ties with all family on both sides, and moving.
- one of the relatives says ashlee has old friends in western utah, near the route of her return trip
- the road trip happened shortly before the welfare check, but apparently after the school had begun escalating over issues with home schooling

 

[Fromeaster]

My blood boils when I see that unhealthy woman, some soulless robot. What a tragedy, I beg for a miracle. I can't imagine that any good people would keep a child hidden, there would be so many problems. During the podcast, they mentioned that this woman has another child but her rights have been taken away.

 

[Knox]

My blood boils when I see that unhealthy woman, some soulless robot. What a tragedy, I beg for a miracle. I can't imagine that any good people would keep a child hidden, there would be so many problems. During the podcast, they mentioned that this woman has another child but her rights have been taken away.

That child is now an adult and was raised by her Father. It was many years ago.

Whatever Ashlee’s motivation is, in not simply answering a question on Melodee’s safety/location. It’s clearly rooted in her own warped perception of what’s best for her daughter.

There’s a proven history of mental health issues and inability to parent, likely partially driven by what she herself suffered as a child. Seems there has been intermittent CPS involvement, but then she’s treated and released and drops off the radar again.

Is this the life Melodee is doomed to live? I sure hope not.

 

[tara83]

That child is now an adult and was raised by her Father. It was many years ago.

Whatever Ashlee’s motivation is, in not simply answering a question on Melodee’s safety/location. It’s clearly rooted in her own warped perception of what’s best for her daughter.

There’s a proven history of mental health issues and inability to parent, likely partially driven by what she herself suffered as a child. Seems there has been intermittent CPS involvement, but then she’s treated and released and drops off the radar again.

Is this the life Melodee is doomed to live? I sure hope not.

I sadly doubt poor Melodee will have a life to live at all.

 

[Serononin]

Not to stereotype, but if one were looking for the kind of anti-government folks who would (probably) not physically harm one's child, wouldn't reveal her location to LE or any mandated reporter, and lived somewhere isolated enough to pull that off successfully, my impression is that rural Utah would probably not be a bad place to find them. Maybe I'm reaching here, but based on the details we have, such as they are, I haven't completely lost hope that Melodee could possibly be found alive

 

[ivegotcha]

Not to stereotype, but if one were looking for the kind of anti-government folks who would (probably) not physically harm one's child, wouldn't reveal her location to LE or any mandated reporter, and lived somewhere isolated enough to pull that off successfully, my impression is that rural Utah would probably not be a bad place to find them. Maybe I'm reaching here, but based on the details we have, such as they are, I haven't completely lost hope that Melodee could possibly be found alive

possibly a commune, they still exist ...

 

[Emi]

Superior Court of California, County of Santa Barbara

portal.sbcourts.org

 

[Emi]

Ashlee Buzzard Charged with False Imprisonment for Nov. 6 Lompoc Incident | Local News | Noozhawk

A Vandenberg Village mother whose 9-year-old daughter’s whereabouts remain a mystery has been charged with false imprisonment for an incident that

www.noozhawk.com

 

[Ontario Mom]

Ashlee Buzzard Charged with False Imprisonment for Nov. 6 Lompoc Incident | Local News | Noozhawk

A Vandenberg Village mother whose 9-year-old daughter’s whereabouts remain a mystery has been charged with false imprisonment for an incident that

www.noozhawk.com

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