Additional Coverage:
- 9-year-old California girl’s appearance may have been altered with wig before she disappeared (nbcnews.com)
Detectives Suspect Mother May Have Altered Missing 9-Year-Old’s Appearance with Wig
Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s detectives investigating the disappearance of 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard believe her mother may have attempted to alter the child’s appearance using a wig.
Security camera footage from October 7, captured at a car rental establishment, shows Melodee wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt with the hood pulled up. The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office stated in a Friday news release that the child appears to be wearing “what appears to be a wig that is darker and straighter than her natural hair.”
The agency has released images from this video and is concentrating its investigation on the period between October 7 and October 10. The Sheriff’s Office indicated that they believe the wig was used to “alter” Melodee’s appearance, noting that her mother, Ashlee Buzzard, is known to wear wigs herself.
“Our detectives are following every lead in this case. We continue to seek information from the public that could help us find Melodee,” Sheriff Bill Brown stated. “We remain determined to bring her home safely.”
Investigators reported that Ashlee Buzzard rented a white Chevrolet Malibu on October 7 and embarked on a three-day road trip before returning to her Lompoc, California, residence. According to the release, Melodee was not present in the rental car upon Buzzard’s return.
NBC News was unable to reach Buzzard at listed phone numbers, and her mother declined to comment on Monday.
The Sheriff’s Office detailed that the “road trip went from Lompoc to the Nebraska area, with the return trip including the state of Kansas.” Authorities are now focused on “determining where Melodee was during those three days and where she may be now.”
The search for Melodee commenced on October 14, initiated after a school administrator with the Lompoc Unified School District reported her prolonged absence. The district clarified that Melodee enrolled in August, and law enforcement was contacted as part of standard procedure following absences and a failure to complete class assignments.
Deputies visited Buzzard’s home and made contact with her, but not with her daughter. The Sheriff’s Office stated that Buzzard provided “no verifiable explanation” for her daughter’s whereabouts and has previously indicated that Buzzard is not cooperating with the investigation.
Corinna Meza, Melodee’s half-sister, informed NBC affiliate KSBY of San Luis Obispo that their father passed away when Melodee was an infant and that the girl is rarely seen, even by family members. “We’re all looking for answers,” Meza said.
The FBI’s Los Angeles field office is providing assistance to the Sheriff’s Office in their ongoing search.