The mother of a missing 9-year-old Santa Barbara County girl was charged Monday in a case that is not directly related to her daughter’s disappearance, prosecutors said Monday.
Ashlee Buzzard, 40, was charged with one count of felony false imprisonment in what authorities described only as an incident that occurred Nov. 6 in her hometown of Lompoc. She was being held on $100,000 bail with arraignment scheduled for Wednesday.
In a statement last week, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department said Buzzard was arrested in connection with a recent incident during which she “prevented a victim from leaving a location.”
Details about the crime were not immediately available.
“This crime is not connected to the ongoing search for Melodee, however, detectives are unable to fully outline the crime as it would impede their ongoing investigation,” the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department said. “Although this arrest occurred during the course of the missing person investigation, it is not directly related to Melodee’s disappearance. Sheriff’s detectives remain fully focused on locating Melodee and confirming her safety.”
New details emerged earlier this week on the search for Melodee Buzzard, which the sheriff’s department began investigating the case Oct. 14 after a school administrator reported Melodee had not been seen at school for several days. Detectives said Melodee and her mother left California Oct. 7 in a white 2024 Chevrolet Malibu with license plate license plate 9MNG101. They traveled as far as Nebraska before the return trip, authorities said.
Melodee was last seen on the return trip to California Oct. 9 on security camera video near the Colorado-Utah border, investigators said, adding that they are still working to fill in road trip timeline gaps with help from authorities in those states, Arizona, Nevada and California.
Beginning Oct. 8, the Malibu was seen with New York license plate HCG967, the sheriff’s department said. It was not immediately clear when the different plate was installed or whether other plates were used during the trip.
“The New York plate seen on the car does not belong to the vehicle or to Ashlee,” the department said in a Monday statement. “Investigators believe it was used as a false or switched plate to avoid detection. When the vehicle was returned to the rental agency in Lompoc, California, the assigned California plate was on the vehicle.”
On or around Oct. 9, the Malibu is believed to have traveled through Green River and Panguitch, Utah; northwest Arizona; Primm, Nevada; and Rancho Cucamonga.
Detectives also shared security camera images Monday that they said show Ashlee Buzzard and her daughter at a rental car business in Lompoc at the start of the trip on Oct. 7. They appear to be wearing wigs, the agency said.
Detectives asked anyone who has seen Melodee or has information about the case to contact the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department at 805-681-4150. Anonymous tips can be provided at 805-681-4171 or submitted here.
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