The body of 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard was found out of state more than two months after she went missing in Southern California.
As reported by NBC News on Tuesday, December 23, a law enforcement source revealed that Melodee's body was found earlier this month.
Meanwhile, her mother, Ashlee Buzzard, was taken back into custody early Tuesday morning.
The neighbours said they saw her being taken by authorities from her home in Vandenberg Village, although it was not revealed why she was taken into custody.
Ashlee has been uncooperative during the search and investigation into Melodee's disappearance, sheriff's officials have noted.
Lompoc Unified School District said in a statement in October that the 40-year-old brought Melodee to an independent study programme in August to enrol; however, the nine-year-old did not attend in early October, prompting law enforcement to get involved.
For the initial disappearance probe, investigators focused their attention on a road trip the mother and daughter took from October 7 to 10 from Southern California to Nebraska.
Security video showed Melodee wearing a wig on October 7 at the rental car business where they picked up a Chevrolet Malibu.
Detectives believe the wig was used so authorities would have trouble finding the girl and that her mother was known to wear them.
At some point during the trip, the rental car's licence plate was temporarily switched to a New York plate, allegedly to avoid detection, the sheriff's office said.
Authorities said Melodee was last seen on their way back from the trip on October 9, near the Utah-Colorado border, but was not with Ashlee Buzzard when she returned home with the rental vehicle on October 10.
Moreover, Sheriff's deputies arrested Ashlee Buzzard on suspicion of felony false imprisonment on November 7 in a separate case.
A man testified that she held him against his will at her home and had a box cutter. The charge was dismissed on November 20, with prosecutors later citing contradictory information and insufficient evidence.
