(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) — A false imprisonment charge has been dropped against Ashlee Buzzard, the mom of missing 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard, according to Santa Barbara ABC affiliate KEYT.
At Thursday’s preliminary hearing, the judge dismissed the case after hearing audio of a conversation between Ashlee Buzzard and the alleged victim, Tyler Brewer, and found the audio didn’t match what Brewer told law enforcement and the media, KEYT reported.
Buzzard had been arrested on the false imprisonment charge on Nov. 7 and she pleaded not guilty last week.
Brewer had claimed Ashlee Buzzard armed herself with a box cutter and kept him from leaving her home on Nov. 6.
Meanwhile, the search is ongoing for Buzzard’s 9-year-old daughter, Melodee, who was last seen on Oct. 9 near the Colorado-Utah border.
Buzzard has not been charged in her daughter’s disappearance, but authorities have said she’s not cooperating with the investigation.
The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office said Buzzard and Melodee had left their home on Oct. 7 for a several-day road trip, traveling as far as Nebraska in a rented white 2024 Chevrolet Malibu. Investigators said they believe Buzzard wore wigs and swapped license plates during this trip.
When Buzzard returned to her house in California on Oct. 10, Melodee was not with her, the sheriff’s office said.
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