CA MELODEE BUZZARD: Missing from Vandenberg Village, CA - 9 Oct 2025 - Age 9 *Found Deceased*

https://ktla.com/news/california/california-authorities-launch-search-for-girl-who-hasnt-been-seen-in-at-least-1-year/

California authorities launch search for girl who hasn’t been seen in at least 1 year​

Authorities in Santa Barbara County launched a search for a 9-year-old girl who has not been seen in a year, and who has not been seen in a photograph in two.

The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office began searching for Melodee Buzzard on Tuesday after a school administrator reported she hadn’t been at school in quite some time.

Deputies attempted to contact Melodee and her mother, Ashlee Buzzard, at their home in Lompoc, but the elementary school student was not there, and “no clear explanation was provided for her whereabouts.”

Although the missing persons case is only one-day-old, detectives have been unable to confirm a single recent sighting in about a year. The most recent photograph they were able to locate was taken at least two years ago, officials said.

The Sheriff’s Office is urging anyone with information about Melodee, potential sightings or contact in the past year, to come forward.

“Even small details may be critical in helping investigators ensure her safety,” the Sheriff’s Office wrote in a news release.


Media - MELODEE BUZZARD: Missing from Vandenberg Village, CA - 2024 - Age 9

 

[Guess Who]

So what makes a murderer not insane? That’s what I want to know. They all have mental issues!

That's exactly what Bob Berdella (sp?) stated when they asked him why he didn't claim insanity for the murders he committed. He told them anybody that kills, if not self defense, had to be insane at that time.

 

[Kimster]

Next Court Date: Buzzard is scheduled to return to court on October 5, 2026, before Judge Teresa Estrada-Mullaney in Santa Maria for a formal mental competency hearing, where the judge will review the doctors' reports.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Buzzard competency hearing delayed while evaluations still pending 1 year later

Marking nearly one year since the murder of 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard, the accused mother, Ashlee Buzzard, appeared in a Santa Maria courtroom Monday expecting a hearing that could determine whether

lompocrecord.com

Buzzard competency hearing delayed while evaluations still pending 1 year later​

Marking nearly one year since the murder of 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard, the accused mother, Ashlee Buzzard, appeared in a Santa Maria courtroom Monday expecting a hearing that could determine whether she is mentally competent to proceed in the murder case.

The competency question remains unresolved after court-appointed psychologists had not completed their evaluations — and one reported that Buzzard declined to participate in an interview.

Arriving and later leaving handcuffed, the 40-year-old Vandenberg Village resident sat silently in Department 7 of Santa Barbara County Superior Court as her attorney, Erica Sutherland, asked Judge Teresa Estrada-Mullaney to postpone the hearing. Deputy District Attorney Jordan Lockey did not object.

Before a brief exchange in open court, the judge and attorneys conferred quietly at the bench for several minutes, inaudible from the gallery. The public portion of the hearing lasted about a minute.

Estrada-Mullaney ultimately reset the competency hearing for 8:30 a.m. Oct. 26 when the court is expected to have the psychologists' reports by then and could take up the question of whether Buzzard is competent to stand trial.

 

[testerv]

Sigh. They couldn’t get their evaluation done in time?

 

[Guess Who]

Sigh. They couldn’t get their evaluation done in time?

She's not cooperating.

 

[Kimster]

She's not cooperating.

Ohhhhh. I missed that part.
Well, that's HER problem, then. Let the courts roll on!