Ashlee Buzzard made a brief appearance Wednesday morning at Lompoc Superior Court, where a preliminary hearing was set in the felony false imprisonment case filed against her earlier this month.

The charge remains separate from the ongoing search for her missing 9-year-old daughter, Melodee Buzzard.

Buzzard, 40, of Vandenberg Village, entered Department 1 dressed casually in a long-knit cardigan sweater with her head held slightly down to avoid eye contact.

She wore makeup and long, curly hair pulled back in a ponytail — a noticeable shift from the short, curly hairstyle at her Nov. 12 arraignment in Santa Maria. She walked quietly to the counsel table beside her attorney, Adrian Galvan, with the county Public Defender's Office.

The courtroom, with approximately 25 spectators, included

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