The body of missing 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard has been found, according to officials, and her mother is now facing charges in connection with her death.
Multiple law enforcement sources told ABC News that Melodee’s body had been found in Wayne County, Utah, on December 6, by a man and woman who had been in the area taking pictures.
Investigators were waiting on DNA results to confirm the child’s identity. It reportedly appeared as if Melodee had been deceased for months.
Santa Barbara Sheriff Bill Brown said during a Tuesday press conference that the body had been found with “gunshot wounds to the head.”
Officials said they found an expended cartridge case and a live round of similar ammunition while searching her mother Ashlee Buzzard’s home, along with a search of a rented storage locker.
Authorities took Ashlee Buzzard into custody Tuesday morning, at her Vandenberg Village home.
According to KSBY, Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s officials arrived at Ashlee Buzzard’s home, off Mars Avenue, and took her into custody at a little before 8 a.m.
Neighbors told the outlet that authorities pried Buzzard’s door open after banging on it with a metal object. After detaining Buzzard, they led her away in handcuffs.
Authorities found a “significant amount of evidence” that showed Buzzard killed her daughter, according to Brown.
“Our investigators and those of our allied agencies worked simultaneously on multiple fronts, some maintaining around-the-clock surveillance of Ashley Buzzard, while others focused on the painstaking collection, analysis and verification of physical, digital and forensic evidence,” Brown said Tuesday.
“Maternal filicide is rare and always difficult to comprehend. This level of criminal activity is particularly shocking given the calculated, cold-blooded and criminally sophisticated premeditation and heartlessness that went into planning it.”
Brown said Buzzard remains in custody on a first-degree murder charge. A motive is currently unknown.
Previous Video Coverage
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.
Security footage placed both Ashlee Buzzard and Melodee at the car rental business while wearing wigs that same day.
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.
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[Feature Photo: Santa Barbara County police]