Authorities announced Monday, October 20, 2025, that 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard may have been taken out of Southern California and could be as far away as Nebraska. This development narrows a previously wide window in the search, but leaves basic questions about the child’s safety unanswered.
According to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office, Melodee was with her mother, Ashlee Buzzard, as recently as Oct. 7, and that the pair may have been traveling in a rented white Chevrolet Malibu (license plate 9MNG101) that investigators believe left the Santa Barbara area but is no longer in the mother’s possession.
