Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
- Melodee Buzzard, a 9-year-old girl, was found dead in Utah, sources say.
- Her mother, Ashlee Buzzard, has been arrested and is in custody.
- Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office expected to announce major developments at 3 p.m.
VANDENBERG VILLAGE, Calif. — The remains of missing 9-year-old California girl Melodee Buzzard have been found, a law enforcement source familiar with the case told CNN on Tuesday.
Her mother, 40-year-old Ashlee Buzzard, was also taken into custody and is being held at Santa Barbara County's Southern Branch Jail without bail, according to the prison's online custody records.
CNN is attempting to determine whether Buzzard has an attorney.
The young girl's remains were found by authorities in Utah, the source said. It's not clear when they were found.
The Utah Department of Public Safety referred CNN to the FBI in Los Angeles. The FBI directed requests for comment to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office, which CNN has reached out to.
Melodee's paternal grandmother told CNN affiliates KEYT and KSBY that Melodee's body had been discovered. The Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office informed the paternal grandmother, Lilly Denes, that her granddaughter's body had been recovered, KEYT reported.
CNN has reached out to the grandmother, who declined to comment because she is on her way to a news conference.
The Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office said it will share "major developments" in the investigation at a 2 p.m. (5 p.m. ET) news conference.
Melodee was last seen Oct. 9
Buzzard went on a road trip with her 9-year-old daughter on Oct. 7, when surveillance footage captured the girl at a local car rental agency dressed in what seemed to be a disguise, authorities said.
Melodee was wearing a hoodie pulled over her head and "what appears to be a wig that is darker and straighter than her natural hair," the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office said. "Investigators believe the wig may have been used to alter her appearance."
Over the next three days, the rental car traveled through Nebraska, Utah, Arizona, Nevada and Kansas before returning home to Lompoc, about 55 miles northwest of Santa Barbara, authorities said.
"Investigators have confirmed that Ashlee was seen returning to her Lompoc residence on Oct. 10, driving the same rental vehicle she departed with on October 7 – but Melodee was not in the car," the sheriff's office said.
The child was last seen Oct. 9 in video surveillance in the region around the Colorado and Utah state line.
Melodee was reported missing days later on Oct. 14 – not by a family member, but by a school administrator concerned about her long absence.
The FBI joined the search for Melodee, a case that has drawn widespread attention well outside Southern California.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
