The search for 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard has come to a tragic end with the finding of her remains in rural Utah, authorities announced Tuesday. Following a multi-state investigation, Melodee’s mother, Ashlee Buzzard, has been charged with premeditated murder in connection with her daughter’s death USA Today reports, a case highlighting the devastating realities of missing persons investigations involving children.
CNN
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The multi-state search for 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard of California has ended with the discovery of her remains in a rural area of southern Utah, authorities announced Tuesday. The case underscores the tragic outcomes that can occur in missing person investigations, particularly involving children.
Ashlee Buzzard, Melodee’s mother, was arrested Tuesday morning and charged with premeditated murder, according to Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown.
Investigators say Ashlee Buzzard intentionally attempted to conceal her movements, such as backing into gas stations to avoid being recorded by surveillance cameras.
A couple taking photographs discovered the remains near a road in a remote part of Wayne County, Utah, Brown said. Evidence was found near the body, according to Wayne County authorities.
The remains were initially unidentifiable, but “it was evident that the deceased was a female who had died as a result of gunshot wounds to the head,” Brown added.
DNA analysis later confirmed a familial match to Melodee’s mother.
A Utah forensic lab connected the body to Melodee’s disappearance in less than 24 hours, Wayne County Sheriff Micah Gulley stated.
Prosecutors intend to argue to a jury that Melodee was “particularly vulnerable” and that Buzzard “exploited a position of trust” to commit the murder, according to a criminal complaint.
“We have recovered a significant amount of evidence that clearly indicates this heinous crime was committed by Ashlee Buzzard, the mother of Melodee, and the person she trusted most in this world,” Brown said at a news conference.
Investigators have not yet recovered the murder weapon or established a motive, and authorities say Buzzard is “uncooperative.”
Buzzard is scheduled to appear in court Friday, according to the complaint. CNN is attempting to determine if she has legal representation.
Melodee’s paternal grandmother, Lilly Denes, told CNN affiliates KEYT and KSBY Tuesday morning that the sheriff’s office informed her of the discovery.
“It’s very sad for us, especially because tomorrow is Christmas Eve, and you know, the rest of my grandkids are coming home,” Denes said to KEYT Tuesday.
She said she was the first person police notified about Melodee’s death.
“She’s up there with her daddy now,” Denes said. Melodee’s father, Denes’ son, died in a motorcycle accident when Melodee was a baby.
CNN reached out to Denes for comment.
Brown outlined Tuesday a timeline detailing what led investigators to Melodee’s remains.
Buzzard and her 9-year-old daughter embarked on a road trip October 7, and surveillance footage captured the girl at a local rental car agency dressed in what appeared to be a disguise, authorities said.
Melodee was wearing a hooded sweatshirt over her head and “what appears to be a darker, straighter wig than her natural hair,” the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office previously reported. “Investigators believe the wig may have been used to alter her appearance.”
The rental car traveled through Nebraska, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, and Kansas before returning to their home in Lompoc, about 55 miles northwest of Santa Barbara, authorities said.
At some point during the trip, Buzzard switched the vehicle’s license plate to one from New York, Brown said Tuesday.
“Investigators have confirmed Ashlee was seen returning to her residence in Lompoc on October 10, driving the same rental vehicle she left in on October 7, but Melodee was not in the car,” the sheriff’s office previously stated.
The girl was last seen in surveillance video with her mother on the Colorado side of the Colorado-Utah border on October 9, according to Brown.
Detectives now believe Melodee was murdered shortly after that stop.
Melodee was reported missing days later, on October 14, not by a family member, but by a school administrator concerned about her prolonged absence.
The following day, October 15, detectives served a search warrant at Buzzard’s home, according to a statement from the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office.
On October 30, sheriff’s detectives, along with the FBI Evidence Response Team, served subsequent search warrants at Buzzard’s home, as well as a storage unit and a recently rented vehicle, investigators said.
A spent shell casing was recovered during the search of the home, Brown said, and similar live ammunition was located during the search of the rented vehicle, he added.
On December 17, the ATF linked shell casings from the Utah crime scene to a shell casing found at Buzzard’s residence, authorities said.
“The premeditation and cruelty, cold-blooded and with criminal sophistication… was used to plan this crime,” Brown said.
The cruelty with which it was committed, he added, was shocking.
“It’s just unbelievable to think that a mother could do this to her daughter,” Lizabeth Meza, Melodee’s aunt, told CNN affiliate KSBY.
