Authorities: Only limited details to be shared in case of missing Idaho children

Tylee Ryan and Joshua "J.J." Vallow. Photos: Rexburg (Idaho) Police Department

MADISON COUNTY, Idaho, Jan. 29, 2020 (Gephardt Daily) — Idaho officials want the public to know that while the high interest in missing Rexburg siblings J.J. Vallow and Tylee Ryan is appreciated — especially if it leads to a break in the case — not all case details will be shared.

“We are grateful for the concern and attention being shown regarding the location, health and safety of Tylee Ryan and J.J. Vallow,” prosecuting Attorney Rob H. Wood said in a statement shared Wednesday on social media.

“We again renew our gratitude for the help received and continue to request that anybody with information regarding the whereabouts of the children come forward.”

The statement did not indicate any break in the case. Its stated purpose was to remind people that child protection cases are private.

“With all the attention paid to this case this week, we would also remind the public and media that child protection cases are sealed and confidential,” Wood’s statement says.

“While the court did allow us to announce the existence of the case and the order that Lori Vallow produce her children, any and all other documents, hearings, and court filings are sealed and confidential by law. As such we legally cannot comment on any other aspect of the case.

“In the event that information comes forward that would be important for the public to know, we will inquire of the court as to whether that information can be shared.”

A timeline of events in the case, which seems to grow more complicated as time passes, follows below:

• J.J. Vallow, 7, was last seen on Sept. 23, 2019, when he was unenrolled from his Rexburg elementary school by his mother, Lori Vallow, who said she would be homeschooling her adopted son.

Tylee Ryan, 17, also was last seen in September.

• On Oct. 10, 2019, Tammy Daybell died, seemingly of natural causes, which are now being investigated as suspicious. Sometime in November, Tammy’s widower, Chad Daybell, married Lori Vallow, whose previous husband, Charles Vallow, had been shot dead by Alexander Cox, Vallow’s brother.

Alexander Cox said the shooting was in self defense. Cox died under undisclosed circumstances in December.

Chad Daybell, who at one time lived and worked in Utah, is an author of what has been described as religious-themed “doomsday” fiction.

• On Nov. 26, 2019, Rexburg Police responded to the Vallow-Daybell residence after family members requested a welfare check on J.J. Vallow and Tylee Ryan.

• The next day, police returned to the Vallow-Daybell residence with a search warrant, and found the couple had packed up and left. The children were not found, nor was evidence they had been living in the house, police said at the time.

• On Dec. 11, 2020, investigators exhumed Tammy Daybell’s body for an autopsy. The results have not yet been released.

• On Dec. 20, Rexburg police announced the search for J.J. Vallow and Tylee Ryan to the public, hoping for leads. The next day, police named Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell as persons of interest in the investigation.

• On Dec. 23, Rexburg attorney Sean Bartholick, reportedly hired by the couple, put out a statement on their behalf:

“Chad Daybell was a loving husband and has the support of his children in this matter. Lori Daybell is a devoted mother and resents assertions to the contrary. We look forward to addressing the allegations once they have moved beyond speculation and rumor.”

The attorney also stated he did not know the couple’s location.

• On Dec. 31, Rexburg police issued a statement urging Lori Vallow to contact them because they believed she knew where the children are or what happened to them, they said.

• On Jan 7 of this year, Kay and Larry Woodcock announced a $20,000 reward for information leading to the recovery of the children. Kay Woodcock, the mother of Lori’s late husband, Charles Vallow, says Lori was overwhelmed with caring for J.J., who had special needs.

• On Jan. 10, Matt Daybell, brother of Chad Daybell, urged his brother to cooperate with police in a news conference arranged by the East Idaho News.

• On Saturday, Jan. 25, Madison County authorities filed a child protection order on behalf of the missing children. The order requires Lori Vallow to physically produce the children to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare in Rexburg or to the Rexburg Police within five days of being served with the order.

• The protective order is served on Sunday, Jan. 26, by officers of the Kaua’i, Hawaii, Police Department.

“Kaua‘i police served Vallow with an order of petition in an attempt to have her physically produce her children to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare,” says a Kaua’i Police statement posted on Facebook. “On Jan. 26, Kaua‘i police and Rexburg police executed a search warrant in support of the ongoing investigation related to the whereabouts of the two children. There are no local charges or any current warrants of arrest.”

A Rexburg Police Department statement issued on Jan. 27 says no evidence was found that J.J. or Tylee had ever been in Hawaii. It also said that, concerning the order to produce the children, “Failure to comply with this order may subject Lori Vallow to civil or criminal contempt of court.”

The Madison (Idaho) County Prosecutor’s Office “asked the Court for permission to unseal and disclose the existence of the Child Protection Action and the above mentioned order to alert the public and anyone with knowledge of the location or health and safety of the children,” the Sunday statement said. “All other documents related to the child protection case remain under seal.”

That final message, about documents being sealed, was reiterated in Wednesday’s Madison County Attorney’s statement, along with one final wish.

“We hope and pray that the children will be produced or found and that they are safe and healthy.”

Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell Photos Rexburg Idaho Police Department

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