Overview
- Melodee was reported missing on Oct. 14 by a Lompoc Unified administrator after an extended absence from an independent learning program.
- Surveillance images from Oct. 7 at a car rental business show Melodee appearing to wear a darker, straighter wig that investigators say may have disguised her.
- Detectives tracked a rented white Chevrolet Malibu, license 9MNG101, from California to Nebraska with a likely return route through Kansas, and say the mother came back to Lompoc on Oct. 10 without Melodee.
- The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office says the mother has been uncooperative and provided no verifiable explanation for the child’s whereabouts, though she has not been charged or named a person of interest.
- Authorities classify Melodee as at-risk and, with FBI assistance, are pursuing tips across jurisdictions as relatives describe years of restricted family contact and plead for her safe return.