New details have emerged in the search for missing 9-year-old California girl, Melodee Buzzard, following statements from a family acquaintance of the child’s mother.
Tyler S. Brewer, a “legal document assistant” who has known the girl’s mother, Ashlee Buzzard, for several years, revealed to NewsNation that Buzzard provided him with an account of her daughter’s location.
According to Brewer, Buzzard told him she left Melodee in Utah with a couple she supposedly met at a zoo. The couple had a daughter, Melodee’s age.
“But she doesn’t know these people’s names, their address, their phone number, their location, nothing. It’s bizarre. It makes no sense,” Brewer told NewsNation.
Brewer said that this zoo encounter and the desire for the two girls to play together is what reportedly prompted the mother and daughter trip; it was “at the instructions of individuals that she barely even knows.”
Brewer stated that this conversation took place while he was visiting Buzzard at her home in Lompoc, to assist with the search efforts.
He noted that he had been relaying what had been told to him during that encounter and could not vouch for the truthfulness of Ashlee’s claims.
When Brewer asked Buzzard what happened to Melodee, whether she was killed or trafficked, Buzzard began what Brewer felt was fake crying and avoided answering.
“I don’t want to believe that she could have hurt Melodee at all, because I think that she does love Melodee in her own way, but the fact that she won’t give me a clear yes or no answer makes me extremely uncomfortable,” Brewer said.
Brewer was recently in court against Buzzard, claiming false imprisonment. Brewer claimed the defendant accused him of working with Melodee’s paternal family and noted a box cutter on a TV stand.
Brewer said it made him feel like he couldn’t leave the residence.
However, during the three-hour hearing, Brewer admitted to inconsistencies in what he told a detective. He acknowledged that Buzzard never threatened him with the box cutter and never clenched her fists or threatened him.
Ultimately, Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge Stephen Dunkle dismissed the claims and said Buzzard is no longer required to wear a GPS monitor.
Meanwhile, the search for Melodee continues.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office said Buzzard rented a car in Lompoc, and embarked on a cross-country trip on October 7, with possible stops in Kansas and Nebraska.
Security footage placed both Ashlee Buzzard and Melodee at the car rental business while wearing wigs that same day.
The rental car, described as a white 2024 Chevrolet Malibu, initially had California license plate 9MNG101. On October 8, Buzzard allegedly changed it to New York license plate HCG9677.
“It is unknown when the plate was installed or whether additional plates were used at other times during travel. The New York plate seen on the car does not belong to the vehicle or to Ashlee,” the sheriff’s office said.
According to the sheriff’s office, Melodee was last seen on October 9, between the Colorado–Utah border, on a return route.
“Somewhere along that route is where we know Ashlee was no longer with Melodee,” Raquel Zick, Public Information Officer with SBCSO, said.
Anyone with information regarding Melodee’s whereabouts is urged to call Santa Barbara County investigators at 805-681-4150. Anonymous calls can be made to the tip line at 805-681-4171. Contact the FBI at 800-225-5324.
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[Feature Photo via Santa Barbara County police]