Missing girl, 9, recently took 1,500-mile road trip with ‘extremely mentally unstable’ mom

A 9-year-old California girl who had not been seen in a year had actually taken a recent 1,500-mile road trip with her “extremely mentally unstable” mother, who is being “uncooperative” with those desperately looking for her missing daughter, according to cops.

Melodee Buzzard was only declared missing last week when a school official reported her “prolonged absence” after the girl, who was homeschooled, had not checked in with the district since October last year, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office said. 

In an update on Monday, police said Melodee was with her mother, Ashlee Buzzard, as recently as Oct. 7, mysteriously driving as far as Nebraska in a rental car.

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They were spotted making several stops in a rented white Chevrolet Malibu along the way, police said, without providing any information about the evidence or where exactly the two may have gone.

“Ashlee Buzzard remains uncooperative and has not provided detectives with any information about Melodee’s current location or condition,” the sheriff’s office said of the mom.

“The primary goal of this investigation is to verify the location and welfare of Melodee Buzzard and ensure that she is safe.”

Lizabeth Meza, Melodee’s aunt, said on Facebook that the girl’s mother is “extremely mentally unstable” and has kept her daughter from the rest of the family.

“We haven’t seen her in over four years due to the mother not allowing the family to see her,” Meza told KSBY.

Meza said that her brother, Melodee’s father, died in a crash when Melodee was just 6 months old.

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Melodee “has a beautiful smile. She’s very, very loving, very welcoming. She loved to be around her family,” Meza said.

Deputies attempted to track down Melodee at her home near Lompoc — about 60 miles north of Santa Barbara — last Tuesday after receiving the concerning report from the school district, but she was not there. Buzzard provided “no clear explanation … for her whereabouts,” according to officers.

Police initially said they were unable to confirm any sightings of the girl for the past year, but later said she may have been spotted in August 2025, without revealing additional details, KTLA reported.

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Her latest photograph available is from when she was 2.

Melodee was most recently enrolled at Buena Vista Elementary School in the Lompoc Unified School District and last attended a homeschooling program about a year ago, officials said.

The district said in a statement that it made the report after it became “concerned for her well-being,” KSBY reported.