The mother of missing 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to charges unrelated to her daughter's disappearance – for allegedly falsely imprisoning a man.

Ashlee Buzzard, 40, was released from custody with a GPS monitor after being jailed since her Nov. 7 arrest by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department for false imprisonment.

Ashlee Buzzard's Nov. 12 court appearance. CBS LA

The victim said he had been helping in the search for Melodee when Ashlee held him against his will.

"Although this arrest occurred during the course of the missing person investigation, it is not directly related to Melodee's disappearance," the sheriff's department wrote earlier in a news release.

Melodee's whereabouts remain unknown, with investigators saying that her mother,

See Full Page