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The grandmother of missing Melodee Buzzard says she was in the process of adopting the child when the 9-year-old’s mother “took her away” shortly after being released from a mental hospital in 2021.
The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office opened an investigation into Melodee’s whereabouts on Oct. 14 after a school administrator reported she hadn’t attended for a “prolonged” period. Deputies said her mother, Ashlee Buzzard, could not provide a verifiable explanation for the girl’s location.
Authorities said that Ashlee has “remained uncooperative and has not confirmed Melodee’s location or welfare.” Melodee is considered missing and “at risk” by the sheriff’s office, which is receiving help from the FBI to locate the missing girl.
In an interview with Fox News Digital, Melodee’s paternal grandmother, Lilly Denes, said social services contacted her while Ashlee was in a mental hospital and asked if she would take in Melodee to avoid foster care.
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Denes did — and started the adoption process — but said that in 2021, Ashlee “took her away from us” after picking her up from school following her release from the mental hospital.
“We were so happy when social services called us and told us that they were gonna place the baby with us. You know, we were so happy,” Denes said. “That lady is mentally ill bad.”
Since then, the grandmother said she hasn’t been allowed to see Melodee, adding that Ashlee cut the girl off “from the entire world.” Denes said Ashlee “cut off” Melodee from her entire family.
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The grandmother said she got a weird feeling about Ashlee from the second they met.
“When I met her, my son brought her to the house. She looked so quiet and she was following me with her eyes back and forth, and I told my son: ‘Son, is this girl OK? She doesn’t look like she’s normal,” Denes said. “Something’s wrong with this lady.”
She described Melodee as a “very happy baby, always smiling, very smart.”
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“I know that maybe somebody out there in the world knows where my baby is. Somebody has to know,” Denes said.
According to authorities, Ashlee left California with her 9-year-old daughter on Oct. 7 and traveled as far as Nebraska in a Chevrolet Malibu bearing a California license plate, with the return trip including Kansas.
On Oct. 8, the Malibu was seen with a New York license plate. Detectives said the New York plate doesn’t belong to Ashlee, and they think it was used as a “false or switched plate to avoid detection.” When the car was returned to the rental car agency in California, the original license plate was allegedly placed back on the car.
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Detectives believe the Malibu traveled through several areas between California, Arizona, Utah and Nevada on or around Oct. 9.
“Somewhere along that route is where we know Ashlee was no longer with Melodee,” Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Raquel Zick told KUTV.
Investigators previously released surveillance video from a rental car location in Lompoc, California, showing Ashlee and Melodee Buzzard apparently both wearing wigs.
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“The footage corresponds to previously released still images and shows both Ashlee and Melodee wearing wigs. Investigators also believe that Ashlee swapped wigs throughout the trip, changing to a darker wig that is similar in color and style to the one Melodee was seen wearing. This change in appearance is believed to have been intentional to avoid recognition during travel,” the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office said.
On Nov. 7, Ashlee was charged with false imprisonment after allegedly holding a man captive. She was released from jail under several conditions, which include wearing a GPS monitor.
Tyler Brewer, who said he’s a court officer, said in a statement that Ashlee “became visibly distressed after sharing information she appeared to regret disclosing,” pulled out a box cutter, locked the doors to her home and refused to let him leave, ABC News reported.
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WATCH: Ashlee and Melodee Buzzard at the rental car location
Brewer told NewsNation that Ashlee told him where Melodee was located and who she was with. However, Brewer said he has concerns if the information Ashlee told him was true.
Melodee is described by officials as 4-feet to 4-feet, 6-inches tall, 60 to 100 pounds, with brown curly hair and brown eyes.
Individuals with information related to Melodee’s whereabouts are asked to contact (805) 681-4150.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Ashlee’s attorney for comment.
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