Melodee Buzzard's Mom Released from Custody and Forced to Wear GPS Monitor as Girl Remains Missing By Samira Asma-Sadeque

Ashlee Buzzard, the mother of missing 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard, has been released from jail days after she was arrested in a case unrelated to the girl’s disappearance.

Ashlee was arrested on a false imprisonment charge based on accusations that she prevented a victim from leaving a location, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office said last week, without disclosing further details about the investigation.

The victim alleged that Ashlee brandished a box cutter and stopped him from leaving her home after becoming “visibly distressed after sharing information she appeared to regret disclosing,” KTLA and ABC News reported, citing officials.

The man, a local paralegal, told KSBY he knew Ashlee from years prior and had reached out to her to assist with the search for Melodee on Nov. 6.

According to charging documents cited by KTLA, the alleged offense involved “planning, sophistication, or professionalism.”

Ashlee was released on her own recognizance and ordered to wear a GPS monitor while she remains free, the outlets reported, with KSBY adding that her next court appearance is set for Nov. 19.

She has pleaded not guilty to the charge, online court records show.

Melodee was reported missing nearly a month ago by a school official in Lompoc, Calif., the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office said at the time.

Investigators soon determined that Ashlee had taken Melodee on a days-long road trip spanning different states — going as far as Nebraska. However, when police went to Ashlee’s home to inquire about Melodee following the school’s report, the child was nowhere to be seen.

Ashlee has reportedly been uncooperative with authorities and was unable to provide an explanation about the child’s whereabouts.

Ashlee has not been charged or named a person of interest in Melodee’s disappearance.

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The ensuing investigation traced the mother-daughter duo’s whereabouts — with the pair being spotted once on Oct. 7 at a car rental business in California and another time on Oct. 9 in the region between the Colorado–Utah border, per an update from the sheriff’s office.

Authorities allege, based on security camera footage from Oct. 7, that Melodee’s appearance had been altered with a wig in an attempt by Ashlee to evade the child’s detection.

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Melodee is described as being around “4 feet 6 inches tall, 60 pounds, with brown curly hair and brown eyes,” according to the sheriff’s office.

The FBI is now involved in the case, and the sheriff’s office is urging anyone with information to contact investigators through any of the following options:

• Call the Detectives Line at (805) 681-4150
• Leave anonymous tips at (805) 681-4171
• Leave online tips at www.sbsheriff.org/home/anonymous-tip/