The search for 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard took a new turn Thursday when the FBI searched the girl's Santa Barbara County home weeks after she was reported missing.
Detectives escorted the girl's mother, Ashlee Buzzard, off the property to another location “that would not interfere with their ability to conduct a thorough search,” the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office said.
Along with searching the home in the 500 block of Mars Avenue, authorities also searched a storage locker and the rental car in which the girl was last seen. Authorities said Melodee disappeared on Oct. 14 after an extended absence from her school. Authorities believe she was last seen on Oct. 7 and may have been taken to Nebraska by her mother, the Sheriff's Office said.
Sheriff's detectives and FBI agents served a search warrant at Buzzard's home, where a makeshift memorial on the sidewalk includes a photograph of the curly-haired girl.
“We appreciate the FBI's assistance in today's searches,” Lt. Chris Gotschall of the Sheriff's Office said in a statement. “In cases like this, every detail matters and having additional resources and specialized expertise is invaluable. Collaborating with our federal partners allows us to ensure we are using every tool available to help solve this case.”
The Lompoc School District contacted the Sheriff's Office to report the girl's extended absence from her independent study program on October 14. Authorities visited her home that day, but Melodee was nowhere to be found and Buzzard refused to cooperate with their investigation, according to the Sheriff's Office.
Relatives of the girl's father said they had not seen the girl in years.
“She hasn't let us see her for a few years,” Melodee's aunt, Bridgett Truitt, told local news station KEYT. “And we've all tried. But we never stopped thinking about her, loving her or praying for her.”
Local authorities were unable to confirm any sightings of the girl over the past year. The FBI joined the investigation four days after his school district reported his absence.
Melodee is described as 4 feet 6 inches tall, weighing about 60 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes.
Staff writer Clara Harter contributed to this report.
