MOMMY DISGUISES MISSING MELODEE, 9, IN WIGS ON BIZARRE CROSS-COUNTRY ROAD-TRIP

Summary

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Podcast Summary

Crime Stories with Nancy Grace

Episode: "MOMMY DISGUISES MISSING MELODEE, 9, IN WIGS ON BIZARRE CROSS-COUNTRY ROAD-TRIP"

Date: November 13, 2025

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Overview

In this episode, Nancy Grace investigates the mysterious disappearance of 9-year-old Melody Buzzard, whose mother, Ashley Buzzard, took her on a perplexing and secretive cross-country road trip. During the journey, both mother and daughter donned wigs and disguises, the car’s license plates were changed, and Melody has not been seen since Ashley’s return. The episode unpacks the actions and motives of the mother, analyzes legal and psychological implications, and features interviews with family, law enforcement, and experts.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Case Introduction & Timeline

• Nancy introduces the disappearance, emphasizing the mother’s uncooperativeness with authorities and the bizarre circumstances.
  • “Mommy comes home, no Melody. I’m Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. I want to thank you for being with us. Where is this little girl?” (02:00)
• Ashley Buzzard took Melody on a three-day road trip:
  • Left Lompoc, California, traveled through Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, Utah, and returned alone.
  • Both wore wigs and disguises, and the rental vehicle’s plates were switched from California to New York and back (09:22).

2. Ashley Buzzard's Arrest: False Imprisonment Charge

• Ashley was arrested, but not for Melody’s disappearance. Instead, a friend, Tyler Brewer, claims Ashley falsely imprisoned him in her home with a box cutter after he tried to help find Melody.
  • "…she holds him in her home, locks the doors and holds him with a box cutter…” (04:04)
  • Charges are unrelated to Melody’s disappearance, raising suspicions about Ashley’s motives and mental state.

3. Bizarre Disguises and License Plate Changes

• Surveillance and eyewitness accounts describe both Ashley and Melody in wigs, and Ashley in unusual makeup and outfits, very unlike her prior appearance.
  • “Why the change in appearance and why there?… you see Melody just kind of walking behind her. I don’t like the looks of that.” (23:33, 24:42)
• License plates on the rental car were switched during the trip, complicating the investigation.
  • "…the vehicle left the rental agency bearing a California plate... switched out to a New York plate... before it was returned, the California plate was replaced." (33:28)

4. Eyewitness: Gas Station Sighting in Utah

• Gas station employees in Junction, Utah, describe a strange encounter with Ashley and note a possible sighting of Melody, though the passenger in the car may have been disguised.
  • “It was really really freaking weird…she opened the door at the store and said, ‘Do you guys know you have a whole bunch of kittens out here though?’” (11:33)
  • Employees observed a passenger with "purple hair," speculating it might have been Melody in disguise or possibly an adult (14:37–17:06).

5. Family and Law Enforcement Frustration

• Melody’s aunt, Lizbeth Mesa, voices heartbreak and frustration:
  • “She walks out so careless, so nonchalant, like it’s not a big deal.” (20:58)
  • No one has been able to confront Ashley directly about Melody's location.
  • The family is left in the dark, only learning updates from news reports (28:09).

6. Legal & Psychological Analysis

• Lauren Johnson Norris provides legal insight on Fifth Amendment rights:
  • “Her attorney would have asserted the Fifth Amendment privilege... anything she can say can incriminate her…” (07:31–08:51)
• Dr. Bethany Marshall (psychoanalyst) expresses concern over the mother’s apparent sexualization of Melody and lack of empathy:
  • “The mother is in quite a bit of debt…she and her daughter look so sexualized…somebody at a convenience store actually thinks a nine-year-old is between twenty and thirty years of age…” (37:20)

7. Potential Trafficking and Financial Motive

• Discussion turns to Ashley’s debt and the grim possibility that Melody could have been trafficked or sold.
  • “She needs money…she went in disguise, she changed the car plates…have you considered the very disturbing fact that Melody was sold or trafficked at nine years old?” (24:42–25:31)

8. Community and Law Enforcement Response

• Efforts include billboards and posters across California, Nevada, and Utah to raise awareness.
  • “We are sponsoring six billboards throughout California, Nevada and Utah…” (46:20)
• Law enforcement faces challenges due to lack of evidence and Ashley’s reluctance to talk.

9. Key Obstacles in the Case

• Lack of direct evidence and inability to compel Ashley to divulge details.
• Surveillance footage at possible sighting locations was taped over.
• Disguises and plate changes hinder tracking movements and sightings.

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Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• Nancy Grace: “Where is Melody? Please help us find this girl. Mommy being completely uncooperative in the search for Melody...” (02:12)
• Ann Emerson (Reporter): “...we were so surprised when that false imprisonment charge came in...” (03:43)
• Ashley’s Aunt Lizbeth Mesa:
  • “This whole thing is pretty shocking and it’s very, very heartbreaking that there’s no force to tell her where…Melody is.” (20:38)
  • “For her not to have any concern for her daughter whatsoever is absolutely disgusting...” (21:24)
• Raquel Zick (Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Office): “We do have a confirmed sighting as recent as October ninth…on the Colorado side of the Colorado-Utah border.” (19:12)
• Dr. Bethany Marshall: “The mother is more worried about kittens than about Melody apparently.” (37:20)
• Greg Morse (Defense Attorney): “...these are just unconnected actions by someone. They don’t prove anything…clearly not enough to arrest…” (34:50)
• Rhonda Decair (Missing in America Network): “We are sponsoring six billboards throughout California, Nevada and Utah in order to help the public know who to look for...” (46:31)
• Lizbeth Mesa: “I just want to let Melody know that she has a lot of family that loves her…we just want her home safe.” (32:01)

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Important Timestamps

• 02:06: Nancy Grace sets up the case and introduces Ashley Buzzard’s uncooperative attitude.
• 03:43–04:53: Discussion of the false imprisonment charge and the Tyler Brewer incident.
• 09:22: Raquel Zick details the cross-country route.
• 11:33–12:21: Gas station employee recounts the bizarre encounter with Ashley and the disguised passenger.
• 14:37: Ann Emerson analyzes the gas station sighting and confusion over Melody’s appearance.
• 19:12: Law enforcement confirms last credible Melody sighting.
• 20:38–24:42: Interview with Melody’s aunt about family anguish, financial speculation, and more.
• 31:43: Lizbeth reports Ashley returned to her home.
• 33:28: Law enforcement confirms license plate switches.
• 37:20: Dr. Bethany Marshall’s psychological assessment.
• 46:20–47:05: Missing in America Network and community’s efforts.

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Memorable Moments

• The Kittens Incident: The odd gas station encounter where Ashley, in disguise, enters only to talk about kittens, unsettling staff with her behavior (11:33–12:15).
• Disguises and Wigs: Revelations of both mother and daughter in wigs, possibly to make Melody appear older or unrecognizable (23:33–24:42).
• Family Plea: Melody’s aunt's emotional message addressed directly to Melody (32:01).
• Destroyed Posters: Confirmation that Ashley has been caught tearing down missing child posters from her yard (45:02).
• Community Outcry: Plans for billboards and flyers in multiple states highlight the case’s reach (46:20).

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Conclusion

This episode painstakingly recounts the troubling facts and dead ends in the search for Melody Buzzard. Through analysis, interviews, and direct questioning, it raises urgent concerns about child trafficking, legal roadblocks, and the limits of the justice system. The emotional toll on Melody’s family is evident, and the call to action for public vigilance and tips is repeated.

“If you know or think you know anything at all about missing Melody, age nine, please call Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s…” – Nancy Grace (47:05)

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To report tips, contact:
Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s: 805-681-4150

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Transcript

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[A]

Crime stories with nancy grace mommy disguises missing melody just nine years old in a bizarre series of wigs on a very odd cross country road trip mommy comes home no melody i'm nancy grace this is crime stories i want to thank you for being with us where is this little.

[D]

Girl timeline was very sketchy and mom is not giving any information at all.

[A]

Where is melody please help us find this girl mommy being completely uncooperative in the search for melody or why is there any good reason mommy can't tell us where her nine year old little girl is before i bring you up to date on this bizarre cross country road trip and the changing of the wigs and the outfits and the disguises mommy changing the license plates on a rental car during that cross country trip with her child who does that i want to take you straight into a courtroom in the last hours this has gone down mommy ashley buzzard in court on criminal charges this is from our friends at court tv but they were not charges in relation to her missing little girl and yes melody nine years old is missing straight out to ann emerson senior investigative reporter criminally obsessed on youtube and star of unsolved south carolina the murdoch murders money and mystery and thank you for being with us why isn't mommy charged with her disappearing child why is she charged on some other false imprisonment what happened.

[C]

Right now we were so surprised when that that false imprisonment charge came in it looks like someone had gone to the house to try and talk to her from what he's told us that we we now know the man who says he was the one that filed this criminal complaint.

[A]

Well ann emerson you're absolutely correct his name is tyler brewer and apparently he goes over to buzzard that's ashley buzzard melody's mother's home to offer to help look for melody and they get into it and apparently ashley buzzard tells him some story about where melody is then thinks better of it and holds him in her home locks the doors and holds him with a box cutter listen.

[C]

After weeks of refusing to give any information about her daughter's whereabouts ashley buzzard.

[A]

Is taken into custody but the arrest on a charge of false imprisonment isn't.

[C]

Related to melody a friend of buzzard's tyler brewer stopped by buzzard's home to offer help locating melody brewer claims buzzard told him exactly where and with whom she left melody in utah brewer tells.

[A]

Police he doesn't trust the information buzzard gave him about melody brewer says buzzard is visibly distressed after divulging melody's location screws her eyes shut and makes fists over and over buzzard allegedly produced a box cutter and secured her front door with four locks standing in front of it to prevent brewer from leaving when brewer does manage to escape he goes straight to police who does that to a guy this guy tyler brewer who's coming to try to help find melody and what did she tell him about melody's location of course now he thinks she could have been lying and why lie about your daughter's whereabouts this as the specter was melody sold we know she ashley buzzard is in a lot of debt thousands and thousands of dollars of debt we know she needs money she doesn't have a job she's in debt she takes melody on a cross country bizarre road trip and comes back without her has melody been sold has melody a nine year old little girl been trafficked is melody still alive why let's take a look at her in court again because when you see her in court there's ashley buzzard standing with her lawyer and that's from our friends at court tv why didn't anybody ask her where's melody and why does she look like that let's see how she looked at a rental a car rental business where she was renting a car hey is that her yes it is and she is done up let me tell you look at that head full of fake hair okay the false eyelashes the makeup the outfit completely uncharacteristic of ashley buzzard why the change in appearance and why there you go can you do you see those go go boots she's got going on right there why is her daughter following recalcitrantly behind her wearing a wig it's just it's too much for me straight out to lauren johnson norris joining us high profile defense attorney specializing in juvenile and cps cases you can find her she's the founder of the johnson criminal law group lauren she's in court she's in the clutches of law enforcement she's in front of a judge did nobody say hey where's.

[C]

Melody well i'm sure absolutely and understand the frustration about wanting to ask that question but when a defendant is in court they won't be speaking their attorney speaks for them and her attorney would have asserted the fifth amendment privilege against self incrimination to protect her rights so that she doesn't say something that could land her in jail you know i.

[A]

Really appreciate what you're saying lauren johnson norris but if you notice there's not a jury there so her asserting as we all know trial trial lawyers know if you know the defendant is going to assert the fifth amendment right to remain silent if you know they're going to do that you cannot continue to ask them that in front of a jury you can't do it if they've already advanced their fifth amendment right but there's not a jury so why didn't the prosecutor ask why didn't the judge ask am i the only one that wants to know where is melody you're so concerned that by asserting her fifth amendment right to remain silent it could somehow prejudice a jury there is no jury lauren well of course there's no.

[C]

Jury at her arraignment but we know that anything that she can say can incriminate her and potentially if she's placed under oath anything that she says of course could be used in a case so while everyone may want to ask.

[A]

Not if she asserts the fifth.

[C]

Sure but if she asserts the fifth we know she's not going to be speaking right so she wouldn't be saying anything at all a judge would rather a prosecutor would have to give immunity to her to get that information now we don't know if that has been discussed between the prosecution and the defense about just locating melody and seeing where she is to get that information but i am sure that the law enforcement investigation is going on behind the scenes we just don't see it on tv okay.

[A]

Guys so she's there in court you see ashley buzzard in court with a defense lawyer there's that means there's a prosecutor that means there's a judge there's law enforcement standing right there staring at her shooting daggers right at her this is from our friends at court tv and nobody says hey where's melody maybe she'll answer maybe she won't maybe she'll assert her fifth amendment right to remain silent but nobody even asked guys where was melody taken on that road trip joining us tonight a special guest it is the santa barbara sheriff's pio public information officer raquel zick raquel a three day radio road trip what have you learned detectives learned that there was a three day road trip that began on october seventh and it went as far out as nebraska down into kansas before it before the return trip that ended in lompoc we do know on that return trip that ashley did come back to lompoc without melody to sydney sumner crime stories investigative reporter raquel i'll be right back with you sidney lompoc where.

[D]

Is lompoc southwest of vandenberg village where ashley and melody live together at that home on mars avenue so that's the main city center vandenberg village is very small so you would head into lompoc for shopping things of that nature so.

[A]

Sid where exactly did she go well.

[D]

From lompoc it looks like she made a really big loop driving east over all the way to nebraska then driving south into kansas and then coming back to california back to lompoc through utah.

[A]

And colorado wow a circuitous route take a look at that now can we establish was melody with her the entire time we now know that she stopped at a gas station the junction gas station listen it was really really freaking.

[D]

Weird because she just like opened the door at the store and then said.

[A]

Did you guys know you have a.

[D]

Whole bunch of kittens out here though.

[A]

Gas stations in panguitch and circleville could not provide surveillance footage finding it taped over two days prior an employee at the pit stop in junction utah is convinced she had a brief interaction with ashley buzzard the employees say ashley did not purchase anything but told her about cats hanging around the store the employee says buzzard left with a woman in her late twenties to mid thirties with purple hair driving in a white car with california plates from our friends at kutv and there's more i kind of walked towards the door going what the.

[D]

Crap was that when they left and noticed that they had a california license.

[A]

Plate there's a lot of nature a lot of woods around here so it's like if this is where she was the day before she got home like who knows you know anything could happen kutv straight out to irv brant you know him well former senior inspector us marshal service international investigations branch what is that he's gone all around the world looking for missing people and bad guys irv brandt is also the author of a series of books about jack solo gee i wonder who that could be patterned after irv brandt did you hear what the gas station attendants are saying they're convinced they saw ashley buzzard they are convinced she had melody with her they state that she had poked her head in and when she about kittens and when she left it was so odd her behavior was so odd they actually said what the crap was that and they even looked out and saw she had a california car tag what could have happened that made them curious curious enough to go i mean you know irv how many times have you seen something you thought was odd and you look to check the tag.

[B]

Well the gas station attendance and i agree with you nancy that it is very odd but when you're talking about that area of the country where you're going into utah and colorado i'm pretty familiar with it there's not a lot out there and there's not a lot of people coming through and the people that tend to live and work there look at people they don't know hard and something about that struck those people as.

[A]

Unusual straight out to anne emerson senior investigative reporter criminally obsessed ann what i find significant and i'm circling back in a moment to sydney regarding the timeline it's when this gas station attendant saw and they're convinced they saw the mom ashley buzzard they did not see melody what do you know about this interaction.

[C]

Well it was so bizarre i think that that's why this gas station attendant remembered what she thought she saw first of all remember ashley's wearing a wig and it looks weird so i think there was a part of it that was like why is this woman coming in with this wig talking about these kittens outside so she kind of leans out and she was actually on the phone i think right after or right during during this interaction with her husband and that's why she could recollect it she looks out and she sees in the car someone with purple hair is what she said now we asked very specifically our partners at kutv were sent down to this area to talk to them about this and she said she thought the woman in car was in her twenties or thirties and that was a huge red flag to all of us that something had possibly happened between that colorado utah border and now we're just down the road on route eighty nine what's going on and that really was very concerning but we don't know for sure right we don't know for sure if if if melody looked older for some reason but a nine year old looking like a twenty to thirty year old it was just too much for me to believe to sydney sumner.

[A]

Crime stories investigative reporter ann emerson is spot on and she's identified a very critical moment in this road trip so the mom we believe ashley buzzard goes to this gas station and where is the gas station quickly sydney junction utah junction utah they see who they believe to be this woman the mother ashley buzzard she comes in she doesn't buy anything but she asked them about kittens cats outside the gas station it sticks in the attendant's memory she was on the phone with her husband and must have recounted what just happened they look out for some reason their suspicion is roused they look out they see the the white rental car they see that it now has california plates and they see what they believe to be a woman in her twenties to thirties with purple hair in the car with the mom do i understand it correctly sydney.

[D]

Yes that is the gas station attendance account of what happened and she didn't really get a good look at that passenger in the car so she claimed that this woman with the purple hair looked to be in her late twenties to maybe her early thirties but she didn't have an interaction with anyone outside of ashley and this was weird ashley poked her head in the door said hey do you know there's a bunch of kittens out here and walked off got back in her car and took off so it was kind of a weird interaction but yeah she didn't get a good look at that passenger in the car and the car did have california plates which matches what she rented so that car that rental car was assigned a california plate when she left we know at some point during the drive she switched to a new york license plate but by the time that she was back in junction utah that car had california plates again was that.

[A]

Melody in the car wearing another bizarre wig courtesy of mommy or was that truly an adult female and you got to look at it irv brandt from the perspective of the gas station attendant if the gas station attendant saw the california tags i originally thought that means she sees the car leaving but in california you have to have a tag on the front and the back of your car so she could have seen the car coming toward her so we've got to get a description a good description as best as she can give of the woman or child with a.

[B]

Purple wig on that's correct nancy i mean this is a this is a very important piece of the investigation and it needs to be locked down as closely as it can if she didn't actually see the you know the passenger in the car other than the purple hair you know it could have been of any age we just need they need to make sure of you know.

[A]

What she's saying straight back out to special guests joining us the santa barbara shares pio is raquel zick raquel this sighting what do you make of it we do have a confirmed sighting as recent as october ninth which would have been on the route back and that would have been on the call colorado side of the colorado utah border this trip was taken in a white rental vehicle from a rental agency in lompoc and we do know that somewhere along the along the route the california license plate was switched out to a new york license plate additionally we know that ashley and melody did wear wigs along this trip and those two things coupled together lead us to believe that this was done to avoid detection along that trip joining us now special guest it's elizabeth mesa this is melody's aunt as you will recall melody's father passed away in a vehicle accident on a motorcycle this is melody's aunt on her father's side her paternal aunt elizabeth thank you for being with us tonight i am stunned that the mom walks out of court and no one presses her for information on where is melody.

[D]

Yeah this whole thing is pretty shocking and it's very very heartbreaking that there's no no force to tell her where tell us where melody is we're still in the dark absolutely with no no information whatsoever and she walks out so careless so nonchalant like it's not a big deal.

[A]

Like it's no big deal at all and lizbeth i also heard where her attorney was asked well is ashley buzzard concerned about melody's welfare and her lawyer buzzard's lawyer says i can't comment how can you not comment on whether a mom is concerned about her nine year.

[D]

Old little girl i don't understand it at all i have tried to wrap my mind around this whole thing and you know try to give empathy and try to put myself in her shoes but i just can't there's just there's something up there that's not right in her mind and for her not to have any concern for her daughter whatsoever is absolutely disgusting when did you learn.

[A]

That ashley buzzard had walked out of court and nobody made her answer where is your daughter i mean they didn't even put the question to her if she needed to take the fifth amendment right to remain silent she could have but nobody even bothered to ask her.

[D]

In court i was at work and i had people my mother in law and a family friend was there in the court and then many news stations were there and i was contacted and my stomach just completely dropped i felt sick it was just where's the justice for melody where is melody that's just the question and she just walked right past with not even a care don't like it doesn't even bother her that we're asking this.

[A]

Crime stories with nancy grace but aside from the disastrous court hearing where a judge let her walk free with an ankle monitor i mean this woman clearly knows how to put how to change the car tags the license plates on cars you think she can't beat an ankle monitor for pete's sake to me that was an insult it was an insult on top of.

[D]

Injury i agree it's definitely a slap in the face an ankle monitor she went through traveled through the midwest changing license plates in disguise but yet you're going to give her an ankle monitor that she wasn't a flight risk i mean she's concealing her daughter's identity and not let not cooperating with police but let her free it doesn't make any.

[A]

Sense i've got a question when you said that she went across the country which she did that has been documented in disguise i find that very odd that you put your nine year old little girl in a series of wigs when you go in and out of establishment okay there she is right there there is buzzard with little melody and she's got her daughter that's the rental car location she's in a wig and she's got her daughter in a wig why would you do that and i also find it interesting that you see melody just kind of walking behind her i don't like the looks of that.

[D]

Either yeah i noticed the body language between the two of them is very off when they're at the rental place it doesn't seem like a normal nine year old i mean she's just standing there with her arms crossed just with like this i mean poor child she's in a wig with a hoodie on mom's in full disguise like why you know that's the question why why are you doing this to her she should be out playing she should be wearing a disguise should be her last worry.

[A]

You know another thing that's scaring me lizbeth is that i know ashley buzzard has run through a lot of money thousands and thousands of dollars she owes people she needs money she's broke she takes a rental car in disguise across the country hours and hours and hours of driving she changes the plates on the car who does that then she changes the plates back when she returns home without melody she needs money she went in disguise she changed the car plates have you considered the very disturbing fact that melody was sold or trafficked at nine years old of course that's.

[D]

A thought you know something that you definitely don't want to think of but yeah i mean that's definitely a thought because none of this makes sense you know i mean that's definitely nothing that we we hope for we hope that she's safe and that we could get her back but i mean it doesn't make sense none of this makes sense and like you said she owes thousands of dollars to people and but yet she i mean she doesn't have a job she's on a fixed income on housing what is she spending all this money on why did she need all those credit cards i mean she doesn't have a vehicle there's just so many wonders on what's going on where is she getting money elizabeth well she's on housing and she receives social security benefits but other than that i mean she doesn't have a job i don't know where she's getting her money to rent i mean renting a car to drive across the midwest isn't cheap and then the food and the gas i mean she can't get that much money on what through the government i mean there's they don't give you that much money so she has to be doing something else i don't know i try sitting here thinking and i'm just completely mind blown over everything at a loss for.

[A]

Words has anyone been able to confront her about where is melody no i.

[D]

Mean not we've attempted to we went over there we've been trying to talk to her we personally the family have had no success with that after my niece was able to talk to her that one time and then no she doesn't correspond with us whatsoever does she.

[A]

Have a cell phone lizbeth i mean.

[D]

She has to have a cell phone because she's ordering all these packages so she has to have some type of electronical device i mean she has to.

[A]

So here we go we know she's got a cell phone which leads me to has the phone been pinged that will give me a direct route of where she's been unless she shut it off but there's one thing she cannot shut off and that is the satellite the nav system on rental cars if that rental car had a nav system which i believe that it did so that is a simple matter to track where she went on that nav system have you or anyone within your family been in touch with le law enforcement.

[D]

I made several phone calls trying to get ahold of the detective i emailed and i asked him to please if you're not going to call me back please get in touch with my mother in law because she was very upset and she wanted answers and thankfully he did he reached out to her i'm not sure of his name but he reached out to her about a week or so ago and he just let her know that they're still working on the case they don't have any new information and they would keep us updated and i mean we know just as little information as y' all do we get the information after it hits the news so we don't know anything else we don't know anything more than everybody else knows so it's it's pretty frustrating because they don't let us know when they're gonna be doing things you know so it's it's it's just frustrating the whole thing is frustrating it doesn't make any sense to me i just keep you know wondering is melody okay does she need anything you know i mean i just think of my own kids and knowing that they're in school and they're playing with their friends and thanksgiving's coming up and it's just heartbreaking it's.

[A]

Absolutely heartbreaking i've got such a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach lizbeth we're in a catch twenty two law enforcement is because they're trying to find melody just like you are but they don't have any proof of any wrongdoing so they cannot arrest buzzard until they get some kind of proof and every minute counts if melody is still alive and there is a strong possibility she is how long will she be alive and how long until she is lost in some web of trafficking you know children are sold then they're sold then they're moved then they're moved they go to place to place to place to place to where you can't find them that could be happening right now tonight as we're talking she could be in some person's car in the back of the car getting taken across the country to some other location to some other person that wants a little girl her age for nothing good that could be happening right now and the mom's not talking i have another question for you lizbeth did you ever know buzzard to dress up in all of these wigs or to dress her child up in wigs or is that specifically for.

[D]

This road trip no this is i never seen her in so much makeup or dressed the way she was never she was always just in like jeans and a t shirt you know i mean never in full makeup like this ever never seen her in a wig she always had her natural hair which was shoulder like mid back maybe very curly but this whole costume disguise this is all new i mean i wouldn't have recognized her if i seen her on the street i mean this is just a total new character yeah i.

[A]

Mean she is decked out with a full on wig false eyelashes either a leather or pleather jacket tights matching boots the works she's put a lot of time into that look she's got going on right there lizbeth is she hold back up in her home now yes.

[D]

She returned last night this is just.

[A]

Killing me that we can't get anything out of her and under our constitution we can't make her answer questions lizbeth what is your message to melody tonight if she can hear you i just.

[D]

Want to let melody know that she has a lot of family that loves her she has her grandma her sister aunts uncles cousins we're all here for her and we love her very much and we just want her home safe.

[A]

Joining us tonight melodies paternal aunt who has been trying and trying for weeks on end to find nine year old melody where is melody how could she be gone a year and just reported missing or was she without getting some kind of a direct indication from ashley of where melody should be it's going to be much more difficult mommy just in court on another serious criminal charge and that would be false imprisonment by use of a box cutter on a guy that shows up offering to help find melody not a stranger someone she knows a guy named tyler brewer and apparently law enforcement believe him because they issue a formal charge and nobody asks ashley buzzard where's melody bringing up the chilling possibility that this little girl has been sold or trafficked straight back out to santa barbara sheriff's pio raquel zick what happened to the rental vehicle and the changing of plates yeah so we know that the vehicle left the rental agency bearing a california plate that was assigned to that vehicle we know that somewhere along the along the route that was switched out to a new york plate that did not belong to ashley and it does not belong to the vehicle and then before it was returned back to the rental agency at lompoc the california plate was replaced so it's a little challenging it's more challenging to track that vehicle as it goes through states because we're not sure what license plate we're looking at looking at associated with this white sedan and additionally it's hard to tell how many times or if that plate was switched back and forth crime stories with nancy grace.

[C]

Joining.

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Me now a veteran defense attorney you know him well greg morse criminal defense attorney out of palm beach founder of morse legal and author of the untested on amazon greg when you have a client that changes the car tags on her car i mean when you go on a road trip do you take time to change the tags and think about it in california you have a front and a back tag that's a.

[B]

Lot of work why well nancy you're looking at these innocuous actions of the mom and trying to impute that she sold her daughter she got rid of her into sex slavery but these are just unconnected actions by someone they don't prove anything they're clearly not enough to arrest so they're meaningless in and of themselves and she's doing the right thing by not talking to the police because they manipulate and they change statements and they put more meaning on things than maybe the information calls for to lead to a conclusion that she did something wrong they're now releasing her on house arrest for what seems like a nonsense charge of false imprisonment unrelated you know they're leveraging the law enforcement and unrelated to keep her close for this investigation into her daughter she may be distraught she you know is broken down and very emotional so she's probably not thinking right anyway cause her daughter's missing and the information that's out there now doesn't.

[A]

Prove anything her daughter's missing because she took her on a bizarre road trip and made her wear wigs the whole way along and now suddenly she's gone to doctor bethany marshall joining us psychoanalyst author of deal breakers you can see her now on peacock and you can find her at dr bethanymarshall dot com doctor bethany marshall in all of your travels which are extensive her parents were missionaries all over the world and she went along have you ever seen or seen a video of a snake charmer the snake charmer you know plays the musical instrument and goes back and forth and suddenly the very poisonous snake they're both going symbiotically like this and you start falling under each other's trance right and as soon as the music stops the snake bites somebody okay that is what greg morse just did did you hear what he said the mother's distraught really i didn't see her crying let's see a shot of that court tv video of mommy and in court she's standing there just as cold as a block of ice and oh by the way bethany after this this is from court tv somebody asked the lawyer hey is your client worried about melody the lawyer said quote i can't comment i'm worried about melody why isn't the mother worried about melody you know what you're the shrink hit me well the mother's.

[C]

More worried about kittens than about melody apparently here's what concerns me the mother is in quite a bit of debt she and her daughter look so sexualized in terms of their appearance the mother is sexualizing the daughter that somebody at a convenience store actually thinks a nine year old is between twenty and thirty years of age that means the mother is putting makeup the purple wig all of that what this tells me and also all the changing of the tags and the license plates this mother i do not believe is sophisticated enough to do that on her own but this is not a highly functioning mother so it tells me somebody might be coaching her telling her how could you put.

[A]

Her could you please put bethany up.

[C]

I think she's being coached i'm sorry.

[A]

I'M hearing static right now you said this is not a highly functioning mother pause this mother knows enough to get a rental car to change out the tags throughout her cross country road trip with her little girl who goes missing to change outfits put on disguises and come back without her and fend off authorities who are questioning her about where is melody and you say she's not high functioning i disagree i nancy i.

[C]

Do not think she's high functioning i.

[A]

Think she's being coached let me remind everyone that the mother that just sticks in my mouth the mother in this case ashley buzzard has not been charged and has not been named as a person of interest in melody's disappearance she just happens rhonda decair founder of missing in america network she just happens to be the last one known to be with melody on a hundreds and hundreds of miles road trip just the two of them a mommy and me moment and she comes back without her daughter and won't tell anybody where she is how disturbed are you rhonda and of course this came to the forefront during the chandra levy case if you remember that where chandra levy went missing from her high rise in dc and the ritzy high rise would videotape over their surveillance so we don't really know what time chandra left her home we don't know if she was dressed to go out to a dinner party or to go jogging or to go back to work to the office no idea we don't know who was with her we know nothing because every seventy two they tape over it just like the gas station i considering pushing legislation to disallow that but therefore we don't have the video of that gas station at least we have the eyewitness accounts but i want to hear your take rhonda.

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Well look i believe that we would be.

[A]

In a much better place if we had a better photograph of melody and.

[C]

The gas station would have been able to provide that if she was in that vehicle with her mom i feel.

[A]

Like the whole communities along that route could be looking out or could be looking through all of their videos to see where else that vehicle was seen.

[C]

And i hope that the investigators are.

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Out there speaking with every single establishment.

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Along that road to see what they.

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Can find out and hopefully they will.

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Come up with more videos so that.

[A]

We can actually see who we're supposed to be looking for to irv brandt author of solo shot curse of the blue stone and much more on amazon but for my purposes irv brandt has been with the us government going all around the country hunting down tracking down bad guys and missing people irv what do we do now well nancy this.

[B]

Is it's a complex investigation in the sense it covers so much territory between california and nebraska than the route back but having said that it's not complex in what they're looking for and they will have the manpower the fbi is assisting california all the other states will join in and any other federal agencies that they deem necessary they will track that route as best they can they will interview all the witnesses that they can find till the last time that.

[A]

Child was seen to greg morse veteran trial lawyer joining us out of palm beach why didn't anybody ask her in court where's melody well she has a.

[B]

Lawyer so she's not going to she can't compel her to testify against herself so rightfully so regardless of what's going on around her false imprisonment she's not no i don't know if she would be or not but again you're going to tell someone that's being looked at for a crime you're going to tell someone that was charged with an unrelated crime do not speak with anyone or the police that's good sound advice that's criminal defense law one hundred one she has a fifth amendment right and she's exercising it there's nothing wrong with that you know yourself it can't be used against her in court if she is ultimately arrested in the future for something involving her daughter but right now there's not much other than the police began an investigation here's the last point of the daughter they use this nonsense false imprisonment to get her into custody to see if that would provide leverage but the only thing that did probably was get her a lawyer probably court appointed since she doesn't seem to have much money and he or she's going to tell her hey don't talk to anybody no matter what they ask even if you want to help she may want to help she may want to talk but she's not and that's sound advice.

[A]

Right now that's right doctor bethany she wants to help so much she stood there in court and didn't say a word and is being uncooperative and not helping police find melody that's how much she wants to help doctor bethany marshall what do you think i think that.

[C]

The fact that she took her daughter out of school and was homeschooling her was red flag number one cutting the daughter off from relatives a loving grandmother aunts uncles red flag number two running up debt dressing her daughter up in this manner and taking her across the country but most notably nancy when you interview somebody and you wonder if there's homicide or sex trafficking or something like that what you really look for is whether or not there is empathy towards the lost child there's no empathy she's not you know nancy according to one report she was taking down missing children missing melody buzzard photos that's not lack of empathy even that's malice that's destruction that's getting in the way of the investigation this mother i think does not want this daughter to be found for some reason because if the daughter's found and the daughter talks about what happened there's a lot of hell that could rain down on this mother ann emerson.

[A]

Is that true anne senior investigative reporter criminally obsessed with is the mom ashley buzzard accused of tearing down missing persons.

[C]

Posters absolutely we've got it on video like she was seen by a serve like actually like a little surveillance camera we it it's out there of of her going in her front yard and these were these are community members who have been extremely concerned there are plenty of neighbors who have been speaking out about this and they've been watching this house for a while and and they watched her go in the front yard see these signs and start pulling them up out of her yard because for whatever reason she didn't feel like they needed to have those signs in front of her yard another thing about these neighbors is that they have been watching strange behavior i mean i asked have you seen her have you ever seen melody in a in a in a wig or in a disguise before and they were like well i don't know about the wig but i do know every time she goes out she keeps her covered up with a hoodie what so this has been this behavior has for whatever reason if there's a mental health issue which we've heard a lot about of course or some reason that she would feel like she needs to keep her hidden there are there are definitely signs that have been going on according to the neighbors for more than.

[A]

A minute to rhonda decay joining us missing in american network what now well we are sponsoring six billboards throughout california.

[C]

Nevada and utah in order to help.

[A]

The public know who to look for and who to call if they see her i have been asking everybody in those communities to print out posters and.

[C]

Hang them up so people that aren't.

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Watching tv or on social media so that they know that there is this.

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Little girl missing and she possibly was.

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In their communities and if they saw anything to contact the authorities and i have also put it out there that.

[C]

If any businesses want me to send them flyers that they can hand out that i will mail flyers to anybody.

[A]

Along that route or anywhere where they were able to locate her the search for nine year old melody is happening now the state is trying desperately to find her law enforcement across multiple jurisdictions are working night and day to find this little girl and hope hopefully bring her home if you know or think you know anything at all about missing melody age nine please call santa barbara county sheriff's eight zero five six eight one four one five zero repeat eight zero five six eight one four one five zero tonight we remember an american hero officer michael candler big stone gap pd virginia just twenty nine shot and killed in the line of duty leaving behind a grieving wife natasha and daughter cameron american hero officer michael candler nancy grace signing off goodbye friend this is an i heart podcast.