9-year-old California girl's appearance may have been altered with wig before she disappeared

Detectives searching for a missing 9-year-old California girl believe her mother may have tried to alter the child’s appearance with a wig.

Security camera video taken Oct. 7 at a car rental business shows Melodee Buzzard wearing a grey hooded sweatshirt with the hood pulled up, “and what appears to be a wig that is darker and straighter than her natural hair,” the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release Friday.

The agency released images from the video and said detectives were focusing on the period between Oct. 7 and Oct. 10.

The sheriff’s office said that it believes the wig may have been used to “alter” Melodee’s appearance and that her mother, Ashlee Buzzard, is known to wear wigs.

“Our detectives are following every lead in this case. We continue to seek