As Santa Barbara County authorities continued to look for a missing 9-year-old girl, investigators now believe the girl was with her mother at around the time she went missing.

The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department said Monday that evidence shows Melodee Buzzard was with her mother, Ashlee Buzzard, as recently as Oct. 7, 2025.

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Detectives also believe Buzzard and her daughter left Santa Barbara County in a white Chevrolet Malibu rental, driving out as far as the state of Nebraska.

Buzzard no longer has the vehicle, the sheriff’s department said.

The search for Melodee began on Oct. 14 as investigators believe the girl has been missing for a year. They first began looking into the case after a school admini

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