Ashlee Buzzard in custody in connection with missing daughter Melodee: Sources

(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) — Ashlee Buzzard, the mom of missing 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard, has been taken into custody in connection with the investigation into her missing daughter, sources told ABC News.

The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office did not provide additional information and only said it will share “major developments” in Melodee’s case at a news conference at 2 p.m. local time, 5 p.m. ET Tuesday.

Melodee was last seen alive on Oct. 9 near the Colorado-Utah border, according to authorities.

On Oct. 7, Melodee and Ashlee Buzzard had left their Lompoc, California, home for a three-day road trip that took them to the Nebraska area, the sheriff’s office said.

Ashlee Buzzard returned home to Lompoc on Oct. 10 with the car she and Melodee had rented on Oct. 7 — but Melodee was not with her, the sheriff’s office said.

Authorities have claimed Ashlee Buzzard wore wigs and swapped license plates during the trip, and they said Ashlee Buzzard didn’t cooperate with the search for Melodee.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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