C (8:52)

And refused to speak to police or.

B (8:53)

To reporters or to relatives of Melody's dad. And Melody's dad passed away six months after she was born. Melody's grandmother, Ashley's mother, she's not talking either. She's been like real stonewall to us. I don't know about the police. That could be a different story. But at first, when she was looking for her granddaughter Melody, she was talking to the press. Now nothing, not a word. So maybe she knows there's something awry and her daughter could be in trouble. Right, her daughter Ashley, the mother of Melody, could be in trouble. This is not to say that this missing girl's mom, Ashley, has been invisible. The Daily Mail actually said she ventured out a week ago, attempting two separate times to rent another car. And both times the Daily Mail said she was refused. Earlier on my News Nation show, I talked to two relatives of Ashley Buzzard, relatives that Ashley cut off years ago. They have tried to make contact with this little girl and again, stonewalled by mom. Corinna Meza is Melody's sister and Lizabeth Meza is Melody's aunt. Here's our conversation.

C (10:10)

Obviously, there's a lot of breaking information that's happening and this search is going on right now at Ashley Buzzard's house. There's a canine search at the house. They're searching a storage locker. They're also searching the rental car. Are police or authorities keeping you in the loop as to any of what's going on?

A (10:33)

Not really. We spoke to the news girl that's been following it. She called and just let us know what was going on and that Ashley was actually not arrested or detained. She was moved out of the home so they could search. But as far as as detectives, we've called, left messages and they haven't returned any calls. So we've been in the dark.

C (11:00)

So what do you make of this imagery that we've got now? The FBI is there. We've seen plain clothes police officers showing up and taking her with a packed bag in a van. Do you have any idea what might.

B (11:15)

Be going on here?

A (11:19)

No idea. I mean, they must have probable cause to be searching, obviously. Maybe she said something. I mean, I don't know, it's all speculation at this point. We're just waiting for her to let us know where Melody is so we could bring her home safe.

C (11:38)

I mean, that is the goal of everyone. The police who are working on this, the neighbors who are keeping, keeping an eye on what's going on out in front of that house. There was that other video that I just played early on about showing Ashley Buzzard taking down all of those missing child posters that were out on the front, you know, front sidewalk out in.

B (12:01)

Front of her house.

C (12:02)

It just breaks my heart to see video like this. And I can't imagine what this is.

B (12:06)

Like for you guys.

A (12:10)

It was extremely hard to watch that because I know my niece went out there, my mother in law and family members and put signs up there, not only for the community to see it, but for Ashley to remember that you have this beautiful daughter and we want her back, we want her safe. And for her to just rip them down like they didn't mean anything, it's definitely heartbreaking.

C (12:36)

So I am, I'm curious about what you said about those who set those posters up. Do you know specifically who put the posters out that she's tearing down?

A (12:46)

I'm not like exactly which ones. My niece Karina did.

D (12:50)

I myself did put a poster up.

C (12:57)

So do you, do either of you know if Ashley put any of those posters up? I mean, it's her daughter and I've been in this business a long time. You cannot keep a mother away from the press or police when their child is missing. They're clamoring for attention. They're clamoring for information. They're handing out the flyers themselves. They are not tearing, you know, signs down.

A (13:24)

Yeah, no, she did not put any of those up. She didn't, but she ripped them all down.

C (13:32)

It's really distressing to see that. And again, here's this other video of the van showing up with the officers. Are the neighbors able to give you any further information about what they could hear? Because you can see some of the neighbors out front there and they're sort of within earshot of what's happening. Were they able to shed any information about what happened when these officers? Well, I'm going to just call them what appear to be officers because we don't know for sure if they're officers. But did you hear anything about what.

B (14:00)

Was said.

A (14:04)

Like the conversation that they had with her?

C (14:08)

Well, either the conversation or could, could anybody hear out on the street or the sidewalk what these officers were saying when they were on location?

A (14:19)

No, I haven't heard of anything, what they were talking about or to her? No, they wouldn't. The officers wouldn't even respond when they were asked what agency they were from. They wouldn't even respond to the question.

C (14:37)

And no one could overhear what was being said to Ashley either as they were arriving or doing this, taking her out?

A (14:46)

Not that I'm aware of.

C (14:50)

So Corinna and Elizabeth let me know about the past because this is not the first time that Ashley Buzzard has had troubles and has had Melody taken away from her. Can you walk me back to those days and what happened when it was and what the circumstances were when Melody was taken away from her?

A (15:12)

I'm not sure on, like, the exact reasons why she was taken. Taken away. I can only speak on what. When I talked to Ashley. Previously on why her other child was taken away. But as far as why Melody was, I'm not sure. I was told it was because she attempted suicide and her mental state was completely unstable and her. It was just declining. And so that's why she was taken away, but that's what I was told.

C (15:48)

And Corinna, as her sister, this has got to be so heartbreaking. I think I've read accounts in the past that you have made overtures, you've knocked on the door, you've asked if you could help, if there's something that you can do if your sister Melody has everything she needs. Can you walk me through some of those experiences?

B (16:11)

Yeah.

D (16:11)

So I just been trying to make contact with Ashley to get answers and hoping that she would tell me something as to where Melody may be or if she's okay.

C (16:30)

And did you get any kind of response at all?

B (16:35)

No.

C (16:39)

What happened when you knocked on the door? Would she actually come to the door? Would she talk through the door? Would she open the door? Like, describe for me what your interactions were like.

D (16:51)

So there was one interaction that I did have with her going to the door. I was knocking. I waited for her to come out. I was probably there for about 30 minutes. She finally came out to do the laundry, and that is when the news reporter caught it on camera that I went and spoke with Ashley, asking her if she's okay, if Melody's okay, there's anything I could do for them. She did not answer any questions regarding Melody, only to let me know that everything has been hard on her and her mental health and that she didn't appreciate all the tent, all the attention she's been getting and the fact that I was there and knocking at the door when she didn't want to answer.

C (17:54)

Did she seem hostile towards you?

A (17:59)

No, she.

D (18:02)

Doesn'T really have like much emotion, like very. Just straight face, like no emotion at all.

C (18:17)

Lizabeth, this notion that Ashley took Melody, if the surveillance pictures are what we hear they are, and that is that they're at a car rental agency in California and that that car drove all the way to Nebraska and back. Do you have any idea if Ashley Buzzard has a connection to Nebraska or if her daughter and I can't imagine this at nine years old, Melody has a connection to Nebraska?

A (18:52)

No, I have no idea. I mean, talking to her in the past, she never mentioned Nebraska. She never mentioned very much family or friends at all, actually. So when we heard Nebraska and Kansas, that was like shocking to us because she never talked about any other family besides her mom and her daughter and they're both local, so. No.

C (19:16)

Well, not suggesting that this is the reason, but it is a hub for trafficking, human trafficking, sex trafficking. And that would make me think that the police would be knocking on your door asking as many questions as they could about what you know about Ashley Buzzard and a connection to Nebraska. Have they been asking you for whatever information you might have about about this woman and her daughter?

A (19:44)

No. I talked to a detective probably about two weeks ago and it was very brief and he said he would keep us posted. And I actually called the Omaha Police Department to leave a message because I was getting tips sent in to me. So I had wanted to forward them and nobody has responded either. My mother in law has gone down to the detective, the sheriff's department to try to speak with them and we're getting no replies at all.

C (20:16)

So you got tips that people sent to you and you tried to give them to the local police who are searching for Melody and they weren't interested.

A (20:26)

Not that they weren't interested. They're just not replying. Like you leave a message on a voicemail and I haven't heard back anything.

B (20:35)

The search for Melody Buzzard isn't just a case anymore. It is a race, A race against time. And frankly, there is something that's been really bothering me ever since police brought up that little fact about Nebraska, a road trip to Nebraska. They told reporters the road trip to Nebraska was three days and that she came home alone without her kid. Here's why that bothers me. It is no secret, especially among law enforcement, that Nebraska is said to be a hub for sex traffickers and human traffickers. And when you think of Nebraska's geography, I mean, it makes sense. I just Google it right now. Have the map up. And this will make sense when I start explaining. Nebraska is located at the crossroads of Interstate 80 and numerous other interstates like I 29. And that kind of corridor makes it a central transit point for traffickers. They can move their victims quickly and easily across state lines. It's easy to get in and it's easy to get out of the state by using that crossroads. So it's a strategic location for traffickers. Authorities also say that Nebraska's urban centers like Omaha, Lincoln, they say they're high risk areas for sex trafficking. Their words, not mine. The state itself has a huge population of low wage workers, many of them from agricultural and meatpacking industries. And that many of those workers are either migrants or vulnerable populations with limited legal protections. Yeah, which means they're easily trafficked. Right. Super easy to pick them off and traffic them out. And on top of that, Nebraska draws huge sporting events. Those sporting events bring in millions of tourists, and that is a ripe environment for sex workers. So bring them in along those corridors. Sadly, the state is seen by traffickers to be a good place to work. Basically, you know, they think that there's weak penalties in Nebraska for traffickers, and it's a bit of a haven for bad guys doing bad things. It's estimated that close to a thousand people are sold for sex each month in Nebraska, with many of those people sold multiple times. It's not as though Nebraska's blind to this. Look, the traffickers may think it's an easy place with lax laws, but Nebraska, the state itself has tried to combat this problem. They established the Nebraska Human Trafficking Task Force, and there are organizations like Lily Haven that have stepped in to help victims in Nebraska with like, shelter and legal services and even just general support. Food, you know, the basics. But the fact remains it is a place to buy and sell people easily. And sometimes those people are children. So if I were a betting woman, and you know, I am those men who collected Ashley Buzzard and her little packed bag from her home today and then drove away with her in their van, my feeling is they plan to take her on yet another road trip, probably back to Nebraska, back to the latest place, the last place that they saw her with Melody or that Melody was seen alive with her mom. Right back to the place that Ashley was last seen before returning home without that little girl. If I had to hazard a guest, they have seized everything from her, every piece of electronics that they could flip when they went through that house. Right. Because a trip like that, if it were Actually, for a purpose like that, selling your child, that would have to be planned and it can be digitally. The Nebraska traffickers are all over it, right. They've been using all the latest in digital technology to up the ante and up the game in human trafficking and sex trafficking, Right. So you'd have had to find that somewhere and then you'd have had to make contact and then you'd have, you know, make a plan and maybe a drop off point, maybe even negotiate whether it's worth it. Right? So that likely, if it was planned, would have been planned on a phone or a laptop. So let's just hope and pray that if that's where they're going, let's just hope and pray if that's where police are taking this investigation, let's just hope and pray that the electronic trail or maybe the canine evidence, or maybe even Ashley Buzzard herself in the back seat will lead police straight to little Melody, alive and well and ready to come home, but home to a much safer and stable environment than she's been living with her mother. We're going to stay on this story, folks, you know it. We are just getting going as the police now encircle that home and start to dig for answers. I promise you we will let you know everything when we know it. I'm Ashley Banfield. Thank you so much for being here. And always remember, the truth isn't just serious, it's drop dead seriously.