A woman in Colorado contacted police, telling them she was being followed and that people were trying to kill her. What investigators found solved a missing children’s case in Oklahoma. But now, because of the Colorado woman’s distinctive dyed-purple hair, some are left wondering — is Melodee Buzzard connected?
The LeGrande case
30-year-old Danielle LeGrande, wanted out of Oklahoma, was arrested by the EL Paso County Sheriff's Office on Sunday and is accused of child neglect. During LeGrande's arrest, three children, initially reported missing and endangered from Oklahoma, were found safe. pic.twitter.com/pISh98CYdQ
— FOX21 News (@FOX21News) November 5, 2025
According to the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, 30-year-old Danielle LeGrande, who has dyed-purple hair, called 911 at about 5 a.m. on November 2, 2025, saying she was being followed and that people were trying to kill her, before making “several incoherent statements” and then hanging up.
Additionally, a family member contacted dispatch after LeGrande’s 911 call because the relative was tracking LeGrande via a shared location app and was aware that LeGrande was the subject of an involuntary missing person alert.
Within hours, police located her in Colorado Springs and discovered three children who had been reported missing from Tecumseh, Oklahoma. The sheriff’s office reports that all the children were found safe and unharmed.
One child was reunited with a parent at the scene, and the others were placed with the Department of Human Services. LeGrande was taken for a mental-health evaluation and later booked on a no-bond warrant out of Oklahoma.
The strange Buzzard connection
Who is the woman with purple hair and what does she have to do with the Melodee Buzzard case?
— Criminally Obsessed (@CRMNLLYObsessed) November 7, 2025
Melodee Buzzard has been missing for 29 days and Criminally Obsessed has found a woman who says she saw Melodee’s mom, Ashlee Buzzard, in Utah with a woman with purple hair, but no… pic.twitter.com/SNFv5fTpcL
The discovery, however, resonated online after some noticed a link to Melodee Buzzard, a 9-year-old girl who vanished from California. Buzzard was last seen in October with her mother, Ashlee Buzzard, during a cross-country trip.
Surveillance footage released by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office shows Melodee and her mother wearing wigs during travel; authorities say the last verified sighting of the girl was Oct. 9 near the Colorado-Utah border.
Multiple local news and crime outlets report a witness at a nearby gas station, who said she saw Ashlee get into a vehicle with “a woman with purple hair” or a purple wig on October 9; the witness described the purple-haired person as an adult in her late 20s or 30s.
Ashlee arrest on unrelated charges
Update To Case of At-Risk Missing 9 Year-Old, Ashlee Buzzard
— FBI Los Angeles (@FBILosAngeles) November 8, 2025
Detectives Arrest Ashlee Buzzard on Unrelated Charges; Search for Melodee Ongoing
Posted November 7, 2025
Lompoc, Calif. – Sheriff’s detectives have arrested 40-year-old Ashlee Buzzard on charges unrelated to the… pic.twitter.com/OJigmeEOTR
Despite that similarity, as of the latest reports, there is no evidence tying the LeGrande matter to Melodee’s disappearance. But Buzzard’s mother was arrested on charges unrelated to her daughter’s disappearance; investigators say she has not cooperated fully with the investigation into her missing daughter.
According to reports, California police arrested Ashlee after investigators alleged she had restrained another person, leading to charges of false imprisonment. Authorities emphasized that while she remains a person of interest in Melodee’s case, the arrest itself stems from a separate criminal investigation and not directly from the ongoing search for her missing child.
Authorities have not released the identity of the alleged victim, the location of the incident, or when it occurred, saying those details are being withheld to avoid compromising the ongoing investigation.
Anyone with information about the Oklahoma children or LeGrande’s whereabouts before her arrest should contact the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office; tips related to Buzzard should be routed to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff or the FBI tip line.
