“FIND HER — BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE.”
The grandmother of missing 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard says the child’s mother has “cut her off from the entire world.”
Now, after a full year with no trace, the family has hired a private investigator in a desperate push to bring Melodee home.
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Grandma of missing Melodee Buzzard, 9, not seen in a year says girl’s mom ‘cut her off from the entire world’
The nine-year-old’s family has enlisted the help of a private detective to bring Melodee home
DISTRAUGHT relatives of Melodee Buzzard have broken their silence following the arrest of the child’s mother, as the search for the missing nine-year-old continues.
Lilly Denes, Melodee’s paternal grandmother, has spoken out for the first time since school authorities reported her nine-year-old granddaughter missing in October.
Melodee Buzzard has not been seen by teachers or loved ones in over a yearCredit: Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office
She had been living with her mother at the time of her disappearanceCredit: Corrina Meza
Denes had been in the process of adopting the nine-year-old when she vanished with her mother, Ashlee Buzzard, who had recently been released from a mental health institution.
In an interview with Fox News Digital, Denes said Buzzard was “mentally ill, bad”.
“When I met her, my son brought her to the house,” she said.
“She looked so quiet and she was following me with her eyes back and forth.
“I told my son: ‘Son, is this girl okay? She doesn’t look like she’s normal… something’s wrong with this lady’.”
Denes said she’d been thrilled when social services had contacted her to take Melodee in, saying she’d always had a weird feeling about Buzzard.
The devastated grandmother said she has not seen Melodee since Buzzard took her away.
She believes the disappearance was a cruel manoeuvre by Buzzard, and that she wanted to “cut off” Melodee “from the entire world”.
“I know that maybe somebody out there in the world knows where my baby is,” Denes begged.
“Somebody has to know.”
Melodee was first reported missing on October 14 by school officials, following repeated absences.
Buzzard was later taken into custody on November 7 outside her home in Lompoc, about 50 miles from Santa Barbara, where she lived with Melodee.
Santa Barbara Sheriff’s confirmed she was charged with false imprisonment – a felony offence – and was booked at the Northern Branch Jail on a $100,000 bond.
The charge is not related to Melodee’s disappearance.
Buzzard has continued to refuse to cooperate with the police and has offered investigators no explanation for her daughter’s whereabouts.
The FBI has confirmed it is still searching for the girl.
The nine-year-old vanished after going on a road trip with her motherCredit: Corrina Meza
The FBI has entered the investigation to help find MelodeeCredit: Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office
Lizabeth Meza, Melodee’s aunt, said she had “mixed emotions” about Buzzard’s arrest.
“I don’t understand exactly why they arrested her for false imprisonment,” she told the Daily Mail.
“Since the FBI took over the case the detectives are keeping information close to them.”
“We want to get them help, both her and Melodee. We just want her back.”
She was last seen on CCTV at a gas stationCredit: Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office
Melodee and her late father Rubiell MezaCredit: Corinna Meza
Melodee’s family hired private investigator Bill Garcia, who has revealed that authorities had recently seized several potential pieces of evidence from the Lompoc property.
Investigators from the Sheriff’s office said the mother and daughter had left the home on October 7, and travelled 1500 miles to Nebraska in a rented Chevy Malibu.
Detectives believe the pair had continued their journey the following day, however, the Malibu was spotted with a New York licence plate.
Authorities say the car was not a rental and did not belong to Buzzard.
Investigators now believe the Malibu travelled through a number of small towns on October 9, including Green River and Panguitch in Utah, before going through northern Arizona, Primm in Nevada and finally Rancho Cucamonga in California.
Melodee’s family has enlisted the help of a private detective to find herCredit: Corinna Meza
Garcia added that Buzzard had also been spotted at a gas station in Santa Paula, California, however, she was not seen with Melodee.
The origin of the family split dates back to Buzzard’s teen years, when she had filed for emancipation from her own mother.
Court documents reveal Buzzard had been living with her mother and her then-boyfriend when she tried to leave.
She had been working at Pizza Hut at the time.
The petition was eventually rejected due to Buzzard’s failure to fill the form out properly.
Buzzard fronted a court in Santa Maria, California on Thursday, to be arraigned on a single count of false imprisonment.
The search for her daughter remains ongoing.
The investigation remains ongoingCredit: Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office
