Ashlee Buzzard, the mother of missing 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard, has been charged with one count of felony false imprisonment for an incident that occurred in Lompoc, California, authorities announced.
Buzzard was arrested on Nov. 7, the day after the alleged incident, on a felony charge. The Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Office said the charge was not related to the search for Melodee.
“Detectives learned of a recent incident in which Ashlee prevented a victim from leaving a location, against her will, which constitutes false imprisonment,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
The FBI and Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office are searching for missing 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard.
FBI
No other details about the charges have been released.
Buzzard is currently in custody at the Santa Barbara County North Branch Jail, where she is being held on $100,000 bail.
She is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday in Santa Maria Superior Court.
The sheriff’s office has been searching for Melodee since mid-October, saying Ashlee Buzzard has been uncooperative from the beginning, the office said.
Still image from a video of the arrest of Ashlee Buzzard in Vandenberg Village, California, on November 7, 2025.
Obtained by ABC News
The mother and daughter left their home in Lompoc, California, on Oct. 7 for a multi-day road trip, traveling to Nebraska in a rented white 2024 Chevrolet Malibu, the sheriff’s office said. Investigators allege Buzzard wore wigs and changed license plates during the road trip to avoid detection.
Melodee was last seen alive on October 9 near the Colorado-Utah border during the trip home, according to authorities.
Buzzard returned home on Oct. 10 with the car she and Melodee had rented on Oct. 7, but Melodee was not with her, the sheriff’s office said.
