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October 20, 2025 43 mins

Santa Barbara sheriffs have been desperately searching for now 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard for quite some time.  The only photo authorities have of Melodee is over two years old, as the little girl is ‘homeschooled’ in Vandenberg Village, just north of Lompoc.
California.

Santa Barbara Sheriff's deputies attempt a welfare check but find no one at Ashlee Buzzard’s. home. Officers return the next day, finally making contact with Melodee’s mom. Melodee is not at home, and according to the Sheriff’s office, Buzzard cannot provide a “clear explanation” of Melodee’s whereabouts.

Melodee is just six months old when her father passes away in a car crash. Melodee is described as a very sweet and loving little girl, who loves spending time with her cousins and flashing her beautiful smile.

Ashlee Buzzard raises her daughter on her own and slowly pulls away from family. Melodee’s father’s family hasn’t seen the little girl in years.

Anyone with information is asked to call Santa Barbara Sheriffs at 805-681-4150.

Joining Nancy Grace today:

  • Lizabeth Meza - Aunt of Melodee Buzzard 
  • Lauren Johnson-Norris - Defense Attorney specializing in juvenile, and CPS cases in Orange County, California), Founder of Johnson Criminal Law Group
  • Dr. Bethany Marshall -  Psychoanalyst, Author: "Deal Breaker," and featured in hit show "Paris in Love" on Peacock; Instagram & TikTok: drbethanymarshall, X: @DrBethanyLive
  • Bill Garcia - Owner of Bill Garcia Investigative Services, Facebook: Bill Garcia Investigative Services, Instagram @BGISInternational
  • Rhonda Dequier - Founder, Missing In Action Network, an advocacy program for the families of missing persons
  • Alexis Tereszcuk - Crimeonline.com Investigative Reporter;
  • Sydney Sumner - Investigative Reporter, 'Crime Stories'  
  • Raquel Zick - PIO for the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office in California 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Crime Stories with Nancy Grace.

Speaker 2 (00:06):
The bizarre disappearance of a little girl, Melody, just nine
years old. Melody has not been seen in a year,
but only just reported missing. I'm Nancy Grace. This is
Crime Stories. I want to thank you for being with us.

Speaker 3 (00:26):
Little Melody Buzzer, just nine years old, lived a quiet
life in Santa Barbara with her mother until one day
she simply vanished.

Speaker 1 (00:34):
Joining us tonight, an all star panel to make.

Speaker 2 (00:37):
Sense of what we know about missing Melody nine years old.
Control room. Yes, show me her photo. Look at this
gorgeous little girl.

Speaker 1 (00:46):
Look at that smile, Look at that beautiful curly hair.

Speaker 2 (00:51):
How could she be gone a year and just reported missing?

Speaker 1 (00:56):
Or was she? Before? I go to our paw.

Speaker 2 (01:00):
I want to go to a special guest joining us tonight.
It's Elizabeth Messa. This is Melody's aunt, Ms Messa.

Speaker 1 (01:07):
Thank you so much for being with us.

Speaker 4 (01:09):
Yes, thank you so much.

Speaker 5 (01:10):
For having me.

Speaker 2 (01:11):
I'm so grateful that someone in Melody's family is speaking
out on her. Behalf. We there she is. I recognize
that outfit. That's a Dorothy outfit from Wizard of Oz.

Speaker 1 (01:26):
Must be a little Halloween.

Speaker 2 (01:28):
Or a costume party of some sort Look at this
little girl. Guys, have you've seen her? Tip line? Eight
zero five six eight one four one five oh repeat
eight zero five six eight one four one five oh
straight back out to Elizabeth Messa joining us.

Speaker 1 (01:48):
This is Melody's aunt, Ms. Messa. How can this be?

Speaker 2 (01:53):
I don't understand how a child cannot be seen for
a year and only just being reported missing?

Speaker 1 (01:59):
But what is that accurate? Isn't it true? Melody was homeschooled.

Speaker 4 (02:06):
Yes, when we found out last Tuesday, the investigator reached
out and was asking questions and you know, about her whereabouts.
So to hear that she was missing was completely mind blowing.
And to find out she was homeschooled by the mom

(02:26):
and the last time anybody seen her was a year
and then it turned out to be two months ago
was the last time that the school had seen her.
So the timeline was very sketchy. And mom is not
giving any information at all.

Speaker 2 (02:44):
Speaking of mom, are you or is anyone within the
family in touch with the mom?

Speaker 4 (02:52):
So she answered the door for my niece Krina, which
is Melody's sister on her dead side. She opened the
door and answered very little questions, but as far as
anybody else knows. She will not answer anybody. She will

(03:15):
not answer the door. She will not answer questions.

Speaker 2 (03:18):
Now, what do you mean she answered the door, but
she wouldn't answer question.

Speaker 4 (03:23):
I know it sounds weird, Nancy, but she stood there,
very stoic, with a very stone look on her face.
And my niece asked her, where's malady, if she's okay?
And she said why now? Why now? And my niece said, well,
we didn't We couldn't get a hold of you. We

(03:43):
had no address, we had no phone number. And she said, well,
there's a reason for that. And my niece just kept
asking her, Malady, okay, are you okay? And she said,
I hope you and your kids are well, and she
shut the door.

Speaker 2 (03:58):
So you got nothing out of her. Guys, we're showing
you shots of Melody right now. She's been missing. We
don't know how long. We're not sure she actually is missing,
but I do know this again, guys with me family
member Elizabeth Messa joining us.

Speaker 1 (04:17):
This is her aunt.

Speaker 2 (04:18):
A staffer at her elementary school realized that Melody had
not been there. Well, she's homeschooled, but they have these
little programs that the homeschool children take part in right,
and so the school doesn't see her every day like
you would a school a child enrolled in regular school.

(04:39):
But when Melody had missed several of these get togethers
with homeschool children, you know, like field trips to the
planetarium or the zoo, the staffers at the elementary school
got concerned.

Speaker 1 (04:51):
And that is when it all came bubbling up.

Speaker 2 (04:56):
So to you, miss Mason again, thank you for being
with us because we've tried really hard to get in
touch with family members. Wendy, do you first realize Melody
was missing?

Speaker 4 (05:08):
So we first realized or found out last Tuesday, that
was the fourteenth, when the CBS investigator called me asking
if I know her whereabout? And I had asked him
if my niece okay, and he told me, I can't
answer that because it's an open investigation, and he said,

(05:29):
we're just looking for her whereabouts. And I gave him
all the information that I knew and I let him
know that the last time physically we've seen her the
family was about four and a half years ago when
her mom brought her to my mother in law's house
for us to see her. And at that time, Nancy,

(05:49):
she was acting very strange. She had shaved her head down,
I mean, she had like a buzz cut and she
had a hoodie on. The mom Ashley did and she
was seem very strange. And my mother in law had
told her, if you have you don't want to leave
her here, she could stay here because she was playing
with my kids. And Ashley looked and she said, I

(06:11):
can't do this, and she grabbed her and they left
and that was the last time that.

Speaker 1 (06:17):
We've seen her. And isn't it true, Miss Mays.

Speaker 2 (06:20):
So you guys have a really big family, a big
loving family, and everybody wants to take care of Melody,
but the mom wouldn't let you.

Speaker 4 (06:33):
Yes, that's correct. My my husband, his family is very large,
I mean, and so loving and opening. And Karina is
her sister. Like I said, on her dad's side, her
dad passed away nine years ago in a tragic motorcycle accident.
And she's always want to talking about Rubel.

Speaker 2 (06:54):
Yes, my brother in law, Raby, Melody's dad, Rubyel died
in a motorcycle crash and that was twenty sixteen.

Speaker 1 (07:05):
So it's just her and the mom. Now, was Melody
always homeschooled?

Speaker 4 (07:13):
Well, we just on that out Nancy. We had no
contact with her the last Like I said, the last time,
we were informed that she was removed from the mother's care,
and we all tried to you know, like get her.
You know, she could be with me, she could be
with you know, whoever they would allow her to be.
And then she was finally able to be placed with

(07:35):
my brother in law and sister in law, and they
had her for quite some time. I don't know exactly
how long, and then the state came back and they
removed her and they told us that she was going
to be adopted by the family that had had her
before or something like.

Speaker 5 (07:52):
It was just so off.

Speaker 4 (07:54):
They wouldn't give information either. And then we didn't hear
from her.

Speaker 1 (07:58):
We was hold on just a moment.

Speaker 2 (08:01):
Joining me right now is Sidney Sumner, Crime Stories investigative reporter. Now,
let me understand, Sydney, she was going to certain classes
at the elementary school, but I also have that would
be Buena Vista. But I also have information that she
had been home schooled but would go to optional in

(08:22):
person classes and activities. Can you clear it up very quickly, Sydney.

Speaker 5 (08:26):
Right, So this is all from the same school district.
The long talk unified school district. So Melody was enrolled
at Buenavista Elementary for a year first grade and then
a year after that. She was then enrolled in this
independent study, a homeschool program through the Mission Valley Independent
Study Program. So this is backed by the school district,

(08:49):
and this is what she's been in for the last
two years. So she was enrolled two years ago for
the twenty four to twenty five school year, and that
newest fighting that we've just heard about, she re enrolled
in that program in August in The administrator who enrolled
her in that program again saw Melody in August when
they enrolled for this homeschool program.

Speaker 2 (09:11):
So if the administrator saw Melody at the beginning of August,
we've now narrowed the gap to August, September, October, three months,
three months. But according to others, she has not been
seeing by anyone.

Speaker 1 (09:30):
Else for a year, but she.

Speaker 2 (09:33):
Did show up according to the school administrator. The straight
back out to Melody's aunt, Elizabeth Mesa, what was Melody's
demeanor when you last saw her?

Speaker 4 (09:46):
All that how many seen her? She was so happy,
she was playful, she was just so excited to be
around family, and she was just smiling and just so excited.
It was great to have her around, and her beautiful
smile just lit up the room, and she was just
a happy, loving child.

Speaker 2 (10:07):
Now we've been told that Melody was kind of passed
off to live with a friend, but no, one can't
confirm whether that's true or not.

Speaker 1 (10:15):
Do you know anything about that, miss Maysa. Yeah, that's
what we.

Speaker 4 (10:19):
Were told, that she was with a friend, but we
can't get any information on what friends. You know, We
just the mom didn't have much friends when I knew her,
when she was living with my mother in law. She
never mentioned any friends. It was she had a daughter

(10:39):
that was taken away and given to the father, and
I mean.

Speaker 6 (10:43):
She just had us and that was it.

Speaker 4 (10:47):
She has a mom.

Speaker 2 (10:48):
Are you telling me Melody's mother has had another child
taken away?

Speaker 4 (10:53):
Yes, h a daughter, another daughter was taken away and
given to the father to be raised.

Speaker 2 (11:00):
Okay, So was she taken the other child taken away
by the state or was she just given away to
the family notes.

Speaker 6 (11:10):
My knowledge from what.

Speaker 4 (11:13):
Ashley had told me when I was talking to her,
is that they the state took her, took her and
gave her to the father she was removed from her custody.

Speaker 1 (11:24):
Okay, was that a different dad? Was that Rubyl or
a different dad?

Speaker 4 (11:28):
No, that's a different Yeah, yeah, that's a different dad.

Speaker 2 (11:32):
Gotcha because I know Rubyl passed away in twenty sixteen.
One other question, is it true that Melody's mom crashed
her car with Melody.

Speaker 1 (11:41):
In the car?

Speaker 4 (11:43):
Yes, yes, she sure did.

Speaker 2 (11:45):
And so here's this little girl alone with a mom who,
according to some sources, intentionally crashed her car with the
baby in it. Do you think that car crash was intentional?

Speaker 4 (11:58):
Oh? Absolutely, yeah, absolutely, she was very erratic and just emotional,
and yeah, she crushed it on purpose.

Speaker 2 (12:12):
Where is Melody tonight? What is your message if she
can hear you, Elizabeth.

Speaker 4 (12:20):
Malady, just want to let her know that we love her.
She has a lot of family and uncles, cousins, grandma's sister,
that we love her and we just want her home
and she is loved and it is okay, and we
just want her home safe.

Speaker 3 (12:39):
Melody had no longer attended elementary school, but was homeschooled
by her mother in Lompoc, California, but concerns escalated when
her former school alerted authorities flagging a prolonged and unexplained.

Speaker 1 (12:51):
Absence tonight, Where is this little girl?

Speaker 2 (12:56):
According to some report, she has not been seen since
she was a little over seven years old. Where is Melody?
Please help us find this girl. We just spoke to
her aunt and the news is distressing. This child has
been homeschooled through Mission Valley Independent School program, but the

(13:20):
problem with that in this case is that she began
missing the optional visits, the in person classes and activities.
Where is she? Why did the school have to report
her missing? But tonight, where is Melody?

Speaker 1 (13:39):
Listen?

Speaker 3 (13:39):
Buena Vista Elementary School alerts authorities. Melody Buzzard has not
been seen for some time, causing concern among staff. Melody
enrolled in a homeschool program that also hosts optional in
person classes and activities. The last time anyone saw Melody
at one of those events was more than a year ago.

Speaker 2 (13:56):
Joining us tonight, Special guest Raquel Zick, PIO Public Information Officer,
Santa Barbara County Sheriffs, Raquel, thank you for being with us.

Speaker 1 (14:07):
Raquel. What's the latest?

Speaker 7 (14:09):
So what investigators are sharing today is that they've located
information that shows that Ashley was with Melody as recently
as October seventh, and that they may have driven from
the Lompoc area as far as the state of Nebraska.
We understand that she had rented a vehicle, a white
Chevy Malibu, and we are providing that license played information

(14:31):
to the public in case anybody saw Melody or Ashley
together in that vehicle. We do also want to point
out that it is a rental car that is no
longer in Ashley's possession.

Speaker 8 (14:42):
We know that the trip was from Lompoc to around
an America area. We're not sure you know that Melody
where Melody may or may not have been along portions
of that trip, but we do know that that's where
the trip started.

Speaker 9 (15:00):
To and then return back to Lompok.

Speaker 7 (15:02):
We are seeing a lot of people that are showing
up at the residence, especially people who are kind of concerned,
you know, wanting to conduct their own searches and their
own investigations, and we really want to encourage the public
to just kind of share information with law enforcement as
opposed to conducting your own investigation and just kind of
warned that you know that some of the stuff could
possibly impede our investigation or interfere and we know that

(15:25):
the public is very adamant and passionate about helping to
locate Melody, and we very much appreciate that, but we're
again encouraging people not to have that result in a
community led investigation.

Speaker 2 (15:42):
Raquel, what is Santa Barbara Sheriff's doing to find Melody?

Speaker 7 (15:48):
Detectives did already conduct a thorough search of the family's residents,
and that was before we issued the initial press release,
so we've already been through the through the residents.

Speaker 1 (15:58):
As a result of.

Speaker 7 (15:59):
That search, we are we are continuing in a search
for a missing person. This is not a homicide case.
The hope and the goal is that we find Melody
alive and that we can ensure safety.

Speaker 2 (16:11):
Joining me now an all star panel to make sense
of what we have just learned to Doctor Bethany Marshall,
psychoanalyst out of LA, author of deal Breaker. You can
see her on Peacock and find her at doctor Bethanymarshall
dot com.

Speaker 1 (16:23):
Doctor Bethany, here's my concern.

Speaker 2 (16:25):
If the mom allegedly crashed her car intentionally with the
child in it, that's a concern. Why is a child
still there? How many times is it going to happen?

Speaker 1 (16:42):
Where the child.

Speaker 2 (16:43):
Stays in a home where there is a danger, and
then the child goes missing and we can't find her.

Speaker 1 (16:50):
I mean, what do you make of it, doctor Bethany.

Speaker 6 (16:54):
You know, not only that, but apparently the child was
placed in another family, loving family home, relative homes, but
then was taken back out again. And what is that
all about the fact that a family member knocked on
the door and then the mother said why are you
here just now or something? Sad effect tells me just
how sort of self referential and self centered the mother

(17:16):
is lost in her own world. It makes me wonder
about impulsivity aggression. To me, Nancy, what is most important
in all of this is the mother's lack of empathy
towards the missing child.

Speaker 2 (17:29):
Well, following up on what you're saying, doctor Bethany Marshall,
the aunt and the niece have tried to.

Speaker 1 (17:35):
Speak to her.

Speaker 2 (17:36):
The Santa Barbara sheriffs have tried to speak with her,
and she won't talk about the child. I mean, come on,
doctor Bethany, you have to tell me to stop talking
about the twins.

Speaker 1 (17:47):
And that's the way it is with most moms that
I know.

Speaker 2 (17:50):
But when you can't get the mom to say anything
about the child.

Speaker 1 (17:55):
That's a concern, you know.

Speaker 6 (17:57):
Think about what moms do.

Speaker 1 (17:58):
For their kids.

Speaker 6 (17:59):
Not only did they talk about them, they show pictures
of them, They dress them up, they take them to playdates.
But they foster relationships between their child and other family members.
I always think of that as a primary role of
a mother or as a parent. Dad's too. And so
when the little girl is at grandma's house playing with

(18:19):
her cousins and then the mother snatches are and takes
her away, didn't a mother who either wanted the child
all to herself, didn't want to share, or didn't want
this little girl to give out information to other kids.

Speaker 2 (18:33):
Many people, many agencies trying to find out where is Melody.

Speaker 10 (18:38):
We haven't seen her in over four years due too
the mother not allowing their family to see her.

Speaker 3 (18:45):
Santa Barbara Sheriff's attempt a welfare check, but find no
one at Ashley Buzzard's home on Mars Avenue Vandenberg Village.
Officers returned the next day, finally making contact with Melody's mom.
Melody is not at home and according to Sheriff's, Buzzard
can not provide a clear explanation of Melody's whereabouts joining.

Speaker 2 (19:05):
Me investigative reporter out of la with Crimeonline dot Com
Alexis Terzchuk, Alexis, this is giving me a horrible flashback
that Samy just heard from our friends a KSB.

Speaker 1 (19:20):
Why listen, Alexis.

Speaker 11 (19:22):
On November twenty sixth, twenty nineteen, police go to Lori
Vallo's Rexford townhome to conduct a welfare check on her son, Jjvallo.
JJ's grandparents, Kay and Larry Woodcock, are concerned as they
have not heard from.

Speaker 1 (19:35):
JJ in months.

Speaker 11 (19:37):
Valo tells the officers JJ is safe in Arizona, staying
with a friend, Melanie Gibbs, who also has a son
with autism. The next day, police returned to serve a
warrant and discovered that Valo and Chad Davell moved out
and left town. Melanie Gibbs later contacts police to tell
them JJ was never with.

Speaker 2 (19:55):
Her crime stories with Nancy Grace, Alexis Tereschuk. You and
I lived through the cult, mom, Luri Valo saga the
debacle where the children were missing, and I know you

(20:20):
recall us. Following Nate Eaton from Idaho News dot Com
chasing Loriivalo to the ends of the earth trying to
find the children. At that point we could see his
hand in the picture and he was yelling, where are
the children? Where she had followed her to Hawaii? Remember that?
And when they first started looking for a Jj and Tylee.

(20:42):
They went back the next they couldn't get a good answer.
They went back with the warrant the next day and
Colt mom Lauri Valo had cleared out and the children
were dead.

Speaker 1 (20:51):
They had been dead.

Speaker 12 (20:54):
And I think that's what everybody is fearing here, because
when the mom, and all the cases that you and
I have covered, when the parents has lost a child,
a child has been taken there missing, they immediately call
the police. They do everything they can to help find her.
They start Facebook pages, they ask anybody that's ever known
her to share anything that is not happening here. Melody's

(21:15):
mom is not sharing any information about her.

Speaker 1 (21:18):
And as her.

Speaker 12 (21:20):
Relative said, she's not even answering the doors. She won't
let people in. Your child was missing, you'd invite people in,
you'd say, look, here's her toy. Is there a dog
that could follow her scent somewhere around our house? None
of that is happening here. She is not doing anything
to share any information about her daughter.

Speaker 5 (21:38):
Laurie Nate with these Didaho News, can you tell me
where your kids are?

Speaker 9 (21:42):
Where are your kids?

Speaker 1 (21:44):
Your comment? They've been missing for four months. You have
nothing to say. You're over here in Hawaii. Where are
your children?

Speaker 13 (21:52):
JJ was not seen again until June ninth of twenty twenty,
when he was also found in a shallow grave on
the defending property. JJ was found wrapped in garbage bags
with duck tape around him. He had duct tape around
his head. He had duct tape around his arms, taping
them into a position like this. That's how the defendant's
little boy was found.

Speaker 1 (22:15):
First.

Speaker 2 (22:15):
That was from East Idaho News, and that was Prosecutor
Lindsay A. Blake in her opening statement in the case
against Colt. Mom Laurie Valo again joining us an all
star panel in addition to Alexis Tereschuk and Little Melody's aunt.
You know to Rhonda de Care joining us. You know
her well. She's the founder of Missing an Action Network.

(22:41):
It's an advocacy program for families of missing people, and
she has conducted many many searches for missing children.

Speaker 1 (22:48):
Randa, thank you for being with us.

Speaker 2 (22:50):
It's never good when mommy won't say where the baby is.

Speaker 14 (22:55):
Right and we've seen it too many times, and other
people having to report your child missing.

Speaker 1 (23:01):
Never it doesn't ever end up good.

Speaker 2 (23:03):
In this case, I'm trying to figure out to Bill Garcia,
our Bill Garcia Investigative Services, where we need to go
with this bill. What now I'd start with a search
one in mommy's place. That's the first place i'd start.

Speaker 15 (23:17):
Well, I happened to be on the ground over the
last couple of days trying to get acclimated to the
area and to learn any possible leads, and I did
canvas to neighborhood. I spoke to a neighbor who had
first hand experience that's actually seen the child. She claims

(23:40):
within the last thirty days. Law enforcement has that information.
They have their security camera footage from that time period,
as long as others. One thing I found is there's
a lot of security cameras in that area. This particular
witness to seeing the child has two different security systems

(24:05):
and they actually shine right onto the neighbors on Ashley's property.
So my suspicion right now, the most important information is
that camera fuidage, because that would that would indicate when
she was last seen, whether she was seen, taken in

(24:27):
the vehicle or not. I also learned some other items
that were kind of disturbing. For instance, they spent a
lot of time at home, no visitors. Apparently, according to
this witness, actually did not have a vehicle, and the

(24:47):
vehicle that was last seen was actually a rental vehicle.
So that's another important clue the follow because now law
enforcement can get a search a search warrant for that
vehicle so that they can track GPS as they can
with telephones and license plate reather cameras. There's not really

(25:10):
any indicators.

Speaker 1 (25:11):
You'll got a question for you.

Speaker 2 (25:13):
You say that she doesn't have a car in the
last car that she did have was a rental car.

Speaker 1 (25:17):
How long ago was that?

Speaker 9 (25:20):
That was within the week.

Speaker 15 (25:22):
Apparently she returned it on either Thursday or Friday. There's
also a possibility it may have been taken and impounded
for evidence or to search for evidence, but we don't
know when she actually obtained it. But she has not
had a vehicle in quite some time, according to a neighbor.

Speaker 2 (25:43):
Well right there, that's a very strong lead, Bill Garcia,
because unlike you know, a lot of cars. We never
know if there's a NAB system in them, a satellite system,
but if you've got a rental car, then we know
there's going to be a NAB system in there. I'm
just trying to figure out about this. As you said,

(26:03):
a potential siding within the last thirty days.

Speaker 1 (26:06):
Tell me about that.

Speaker 15 (26:08):
Basically, the witness is a very close neighbor. She didn't
want to go on camera, she didn't want to have
her name used, but she has been in contact with
law enforcement. She says some disturbing things. For instance, when
actually would come out of the house to go to
the garage, because there is no interior door from the

(26:33):
house into the garage, Ashley would come out the front door.
She would lock the security door behind her, go into
the garage, do whatever she was going to do, laundry
or what have you, and then walk back into the
house having to unlock the door, indicating that the child
was actually in the house the entire time. And this

(26:56):
happens numerous times.

Speaker 9 (27:00):
Things that were interesting is.

Speaker 15 (27:03):
No yelling, no loud noises, No visitors had their food
or the groceries delivered by Walmart directly.

Speaker 9 (27:13):
To the home.

Speaker 15 (27:15):
What concerns me the most right now is that law
enforcement needs to be on top of these devices to
be able to track where she has been. Since she
didn't have her own vehicle, there's going to be limited
times when she had a rental vehicle, so it will
be somewhat easier to track those periods, as well as

(27:39):
her telephone if she had it active or with her. Yesterday,
when I tried to contact Ashley, the neighbor who I
had been talking to extensively said, oh, she's there, And
as I walked up to the house, I noticed that
the garage door was open. The neighbors said that roage

(28:00):
stores have been opened for the last three days. There's
numerous boxes throughout the garage that appeared to be open
in disarray according to the neighbor that was searched by
law enforcement. But she has not been seen in the
last three days. And this is by a neighbor that
I believe is keeping a close eye on the situation.

(28:22):
So without getting some kind of direct indication from acially
of where Melody should be, it's going to be much
more difficult. But again, law enforcement needs to get on
top of those devices and get some kind of a.

Speaker 2 (28:38):
Time Okay, Bill question you stated that there is a
potential signing in the last three days.

Speaker 1 (28:44):
Is that what you said?

Speaker 9 (28:45):
Thirty days in the last thirty days.

Speaker 1 (28:48):
Thirty three zero?

Speaker 2 (28:49):
Okay, I heard thirty on one occasion three on another occasion.
When she was spotted thirty days ago.

Speaker 1 (28:57):
Are we sure it was her?

Speaker 2 (28:58):
What was she doing and where was she?

Speaker 15 (29:01):
She would have been in the front yard according to
the neighbor, they're not. The neighbor's not sure if they
actually left in the rental vehicle, but they would have
had a vehicle. Not unsure if it was that same
rental vehicle or a different one. So she was seen
in the front yard. According to this neighbor, the child
was rarely seen outdoors when she was She was with

(29:23):
her mother. She didn't seem to play with any of
the neighborhood kids, didn't seem to have any kind of
reaction with anybody outside of her mother.

Speaker 10 (29:33):
She has a beautiful smile. She's very very friendly, very loving,
very welcoming. She loved to be around her family.

Speaker 11 (29:42):
Melody Buzzard is just six months old when her father
passes away in a car crash. Melody is described as
a very sweet and loving little girl who loves spending
time with her cousins and flashing her beautiful smile. Melody's
father's family hasn't seen the little girl in years.

Speaker 3 (29:58):
According to a California educ Asian spokesperson for mother had
never filed the legally required homeschooling paperwork when officers arrived
at their home and they discovered Melody hadn't been seen
or heard from in a year.

Speaker 2 (30:13):
Joining us tonight, high profile lawyer Lauren Johnson, Norris Defense
attorney specializing in juvenile and CPS cases. Lauren, thank you
for being with us, Lauren. When you are homeschooling a child,
doesn't the state have some duty to keep up with
what's happening.

Speaker 1 (30:34):
Absolutely.

Speaker 16 (30:35):
Not only does the school have an obligation to make
sure that the right paperwork is filed and that the
child is participating in the curriculum, but if this was
a CPS supervised case, that court needs to know that
that child is receiving the educational needs and their rights
are being protected by their parents. So all of this
should have been supervised by government. It just should have

(30:56):
been monitored.

Speaker 1 (30:57):
I'm just thinking about this program.

Speaker 2 (31:00):
That the school offers, and that is I'm sure you're
familiar with that. Lauren Johnson Norris. Homeschooled children have optional
opportunities to go on trips with the school, participate in
certain classes at the school.

Speaker 1 (31:18):
It seems that she was doing that a year ago,
but then kind of fell out. And I'm trying.

Speaker 2 (31:25):
To understand how carefully the state monitors homeschooled children. For instance,
the Terpin family. Remember all the Terpin children, I think
there were nine of them, and outwardly they would be
photoed in matching T shirts at events, but at home

(31:47):
they were starved and beaten and locked in their room
and tortured. They were actually handcuffed, and they were home schooled.
So exactly what is the state supposed to be doing
to monitor these children who are just home along with mom.

Speaker 16 (32:05):
Well, I think that it depends because first, if there
is an open case, then there are social workers, and
there are attorneys, and there's a judge who's supervising the
entire situation. Those social workers are supposed to check in
on a monthly basis when a child is placed with
their parent, and they are supposed to be fully investigating,
checking into the home and reporting back to a judge

(32:26):
what is occurring. Well, we don't know here is whether
there was an open case or not, but I assure
you that law enforcement is filing what it needs to
do to open any case that has existed for this
child with this parent, to get the background and find
out what's going on. If the case is closed and
a parent just has their legal right to parent and

(32:46):
make educational decisions, then no one else is going to
keep a close eye except the school. And it appears
that this school means fortunately somebody brought something forward because
they hadn't seen this child in a year, and I think.

Speaker 1 (32:59):
They have a right.

Speaker 16 (33:00):
You know, they have to do that because they also
rely on that for state funding. But maybe someone out
a concern and that's why they brought it forward. At
the same time, Yeah, why isn't she on these trips?
Why isn't she participating? Did they check in and make
sure they got the information?

Speaker 1 (33:20):
Crime stores with Nancy Grace?

Speaker 11 (33:27):
Mars Avenue residents say Ashley Buzzard largely keeps to herself.
Hearing the news of Melody's disappearance, Buzzard's next door neighbor,
Casey Monreal, checks her surveillance cameras, believing they may have
captured Melody recently, but there was no sign of the
little girl at the home in a long time since
the report. Police and CPS are frequently parked outside Buzzard's

(33:47):
home and canvassing the neighborhood for footage.

Speaker 2 (33:50):
That's something that she raised the red flag when you've
got CPS parked outside your house. Chop Protective Services Alexis
Teresha joining us Crime online dot Com investigative.

Speaker 1 (33:59):
Reporter al exists. So the neighbor thought she may.

Speaker 2 (34:04):
Have seen Melody in the last thirty days, but the
surveillance video seems to indicate otherwise. What more do you
know about the case, Alexis Well, I do.

Speaker 12 (34:15):
Know that the FBI has been brought in to work
on this case. When the FBI is brought in, it's
not because this little girl is hanging out in a friend's
house or CPS has her at a secret house and
they don't know about it. There is a big concern
that there is a fear for this child's life. The
FBI is looking for her, they're trying to find her.
She was Her mom brought her to the school in

(34:38):
person in August to sign up for her independent studies
as they call it. California at homeschooling and that's it.
She hasn't been seen since she hasn't been No one
has seen her. And as the man said, who's been
talking to neighbors. They used to maybe see her, but
it's been a very long time. And with a child,
you take them to the dentis, you take them to

(35:00):
the doctor, you take them to McDonald's, you do anything
in public with your child. And nobody has seen her.
She has not been anywhere.

Speaker 2 (35:08):
I want to go to Sydney Sounder now, following on
what alexis Terachuk just told us, what can you tell
me about a large suitcase and a box?

Speaker 1 (35:15):
Sidney smer Well.

Speaker 5 (35:17):
Earlier, Aunt Elizabeth was telling us about Karina trying to
make contact with Melody's mom, Ashley. When Karina was trying
to make that contact, trying to check on Ashley see
if she was okay, would tell her anything more about Melody.
You see Ashley coming in and out of the garage
back into the house, and she's carrying a very large

(35:40):
pink suitcase and there's also a box taped up at
her front door. We heard from Bill Garcia that doc
garage is stacked with boxes. It kind of looks like
miss Buzzard maybe trying to leave Pound.

Speaker 11 (35:54):
In November, a process server acting on behalf of Crown
Asset Management, noted he received no answer at Buzzard's home,
which appears vacant, but maintained his notes say there are
no decorations at the front door and the garage is empty.
Neighbors confirmed the home has been vacant for nearly three months.
Last month, when Crown tries again, the server tells the

(36:15):
court they could not locate Buzzard in Lompoc.

Speaker 2 (36:18):
Well from one of understanding, Bill Garcia, the home may
look vacant, but she's in their locked away.

Speaker 1 (36:26):
Bill, is that right?

Speaker 15 (36:29):
That's what I'm being told by one particular neighbor who
has a very good advantage point on the house, and
she is concerned from Melody as well. And I didn't
get a good read from the visit the fact that
the garage store has been opened for at least three

(36:49):
days in that disarray. I took several photographs of the
homes exterior, of the contents of the garage from advantage
point and again try to contact Ashley.

Speaker 9 (37:04):
I have the ability of had.

Speaker 15 (37:07):
The ability to get some of these types of subjects
to actually confide in me. And I've been able to
solve some missing person's cases in that effect.

Speaker 2 (37:18):
And I go back to that one photo real quickly. Please,
this is a shot that we obtained. It looks to
be the girl and her mom. But this photo is old,
isn't that right, Sydney?

Speaker 5 (37:36):
Yes, the photo is two years old at least.

Speaker 1 (37:40):
Okay.

Speaker 2 (37:40):
This is the home, there's the mom, there's the daughter
at the door. You see her. This is two years
old tonight? Where is Melody?

Speaker 9 (37:53):
Ashley?

Speaker 3 (37:54):
Buzzard is facing legal scrutiny over unpaid debts. The mom
is taken to court in December and May for sums
o decay capital one the December case claiming she owed
nearly three thousand dollars. Discover Bank also sought forty two
hundred dollars from Buzzard in a now dismiss twenty twenty
four case. Crown Assessment Management has twice failed to serve
Buzzer for unpaid debts.

Speaker 2 (38:15):
To doctor Bethany Marshall, joining a psychoanalyst out of La
Doctor Bethany money problems way in when you've got a
mom already stressed and then these crushing money problems, What
effect does that have on raising your child?

Speaker 6 (38:34):
Well? Interestingly, Nancy, money problems reduce a person's capacity for
critical thinking, for problem solving, for looking to the future,
for providing for others. So what it means to me
is that she may have become more low functioning. And
if she was less able to care for the child,

(38:54):
and that child would be capable of telling other people
about that, that would motivate her to cut the child
off from outside people. Now, what I think is so
interesting about what Bill said about the mother locking the
door behind her every time she leaves the house. She
is sequentially incrementally isolating that child from the world. And

(39:19):
you and I know, Nancy, that is a sign of abuse.
Now I'm not saying the mother is an abuser. I
don't know who she is, but I'm saying that when anybody,
whether it's a husband or wife, a child, a parent,
isolates a loved one from community, from others, they are
doing it for a reason. And what I wonder with

(39:41):
the shaved head the response when the relative came to
the door, if there was an increasing paranoia or this
would be the profile of somebody who has become increasingly
paranoid cutting themselves and the child off, and what that
paranoia meant in terms of her relationship with the child,

(40:01):
run how she treated the child.

Speaker 2 (40:03):
Rhonda Takiera joining me, founder of Missing An Action network
for Missing Persons Families.

Speaker 1 (40:10):
Rnda again, thanks for being with us tonight, Ronda. What
do we do now?

Speaker 14 (40:15):
We have to find out what happened? We have to
talk to any friends, any neighbors, exactly what everybody's doing
getting the word out trying to look for her. We
have seen this happen so many times with so many children,
and it doesn't take us very long to figure out
that something bad happening. So right now. You would think
if there was a friend or a neighbor, or anybody

(40:38):
in a grocery store that had seen her, that they
would have already come forward. So it's getting.

Speaker 2 (40:44):
Very concerning, Alex's to Reschut, what do we know that
LA law enforcement is doing?

Speaker 12 (40:50):
They I believe had a search wart in the home.
They didn't find anything that would give them any clue.
But now the mom is not participating, Alex.

Speaker 2 (40:58):
To Reshut, You're right, they did this, They reformed this
search on the home. There was no melody, There.

Speaker 12 (41:05):
Was no melody. And there wasn't a glaring sign of
a crime. They didn't find blood, they didn't find anything.
They just didn't find melody, and there was nothing for
them to do. There was nothing that showed that there
had been something that happened to her traumatically in the home.

Speaker 2 (41:22):
Okay, let me follow up with Lauren Johnson Norris, a
high profile lawyer out of Orange County. Lauren, when the
cops execute search, weren't your home, They don't see your child.
They ask you where the child is, and you don't
give an answer. What They're just supposed to walk away
and suck their thumb. I mean, where's the child? If

(41:43):
the mom won't tell and the dad died in a crash,
what are they supposed to do?

Speaker 5 (41:49):
Well?

Speaker 16 (41:49):
I know, it's really frustrating for all of us and
for law enforcement. The search warrant likely listed certain items
that were within the scope of the search warrant that
they could look for. It doesn't over ride the person's
Fit Amendment right to not speak to police. Switch it
appears she is exercising, but sure, it's frustrating and not
be able to get the information from the one person

(42:09):
who likely has that information. That's why law enforcement will
need to continue to do its job, seek the juvenile
court records to find more information about other placements where
the child could be, other contacts that the mother may have,
and seek all the evidence they can within the realm
of the law.

Speaker 2 (42:26):
If you know or think you know anything about the
location of.

Speaker 1 (42:31):
This now we hope nine year old little girl Melody.

Speaker 2 (42:35):
Please dial eight zero five six four one five oh.
Repeat eight zero one six' eight one four one five.
Oh we remember An american. Hero Lieutenant Nathan, Cass Riverside
County sheriff's shot in the line of duty after twenty
five years IN la law, enforcement leaving behind grieving wife three.

(43:01):
Children I'm American, Hero Lieutenant Nathan. Cass Nancy grace signing
off goodbye.

Speaker 4 (43:09):
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