
The search for 9-year-old Melody Buzzard, who disappeared with her mother in early October, has ended tragically, as police have now announced that the girl was found dead after being shot in the head by her mother.
Melody's body from California was discovered in Utah in early December, two months after she disappeared.
"The murder of minors by their mothers is rare and always difficult to understand," Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said Tuesday.
He called the murder of the 9-year-old by her mother "premeditated, ruthless and calculated."
Melody was last seen on security cameras on Thursday, October 9, and police believe the girl was killed shortly after. Authorities were notified when staff at the 9-year-old's school reported that she had been missing for an extended period of time.
Camera footage taken at a car rental company that day showed that both mother and daughter appeared to be wearing wigs, an element that immediately raised concerns.
During the trip, in California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Wyoming and Nebraska, the rental car's license plate was temporarily replaced with a New York license plate, further fueling suspicions about the 9-year-old's mother's movements.
"She was reversing her car into gas stations, in an apparent attempt to avoid detection by cameras," Sheriff Brown added.
However, the motive of the 9-year-old's mother has not yet been determined, as the woman has not cooperated with authorities so far.