Child was reported missing after a trip with his mother, who was detained
The remains of 9-year-old California girl Melodee Buzzard have been found, a police source familiar with the case told CNN on Tuesday.
His mother, 40-year-old Ashlee Buzzard, was arrested and is being held in Santa Barbara Jail without bond, according to the jail’s online custody records.
CNN is trying to determine whether Buzzard has an attorney.
The girl’s remains were found by authorities in Utah, the source said. It is not known exactly when they were found.
The Utah Department of Public Safety referred CNN to the FBI in Los Angeles. The FBI did not respond to requests for comment.
Melodee’s paternal grandmother told CNN affiliates KEYT and KSBY that Melodee’s body had been found. The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office informed her paternal grandmother, Lilly Denes, that her granddaughter’s body had been recovered, KEYT reported.
CNN left a message with the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office. CNN also contacted the grandmother, who declined to comment on the matter as she was on her way to a press conference.
The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office said it will share “key developments” from the investigation at a press conference.
Melodee was last seen on October 9th
Buzzard was on a car trip with her 9-year-old daughter on Oct. 7 when surveillance footage captured the girl at a local car rental agency dressed in what appeared to be a disguise, authorities said.
Melodee wore a hood pulled over her head and “what appears to be a wig that is darker and straighter than her natural hair,” the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office said. “Investigators believe the wig may have been used to alter his appearance.”
Over the next three days, the rental car traveled through Nebraska, Utah, Arizona, Nevada and Kansas before returning home to Lompoc, about 90 miles northwest of Santa Barbara, authorities said.
“Investigators have confirmed that Ashlee was seen returning to her Lompoc residence on October 10th, driving the same rental vehicle she left in on October 7th – but Melodee was not in the car,” the sheriff’s office said.
The child was last seen on October 9 on video surveillance in the region around the Colorado-Utah border.
Melodee was reported missing days later, on October 14th – not by a family member, but by a school principal concerned about her long absence.
The FBI joined the search for Melodee, a case that has drawn widespread attention beyond Southern California.
CNN’s Danya Gainor and Sophia Peyser contributed to this report
