KAUAI, Hawaii, Jan. 27, 2020 (Gephardt Daily) — Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow, the Idaho couple who disappeared after their children vanished under suspicious circumstances have been located in Hawaii, although the children of Lori Vallow, reported missing on Nov. 26, are still missing.
Joshua “J.J.” Vallow and his half-sister, Tylee Ryan, 17, were last seen on Sept. 23, 2019; Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell, considered persons of interest in the case, were also missing. Police say they disappeared from their Rexburg area home right after police arrived to question them about the whereabouts of the children.
On Monday morning, the Rexburg Police Department issued a news release.
“We can confirm that Lori Vallow was served with a child protection action in the city of Princeville on the island of Kauai, Hawaii on Saturday, Jan. 25 by the Kauai Police Department and that Chad Daybell was with her,” the news release said. “We can further confirm that Tylee and J.J. were not with Lori and Chad and there is no evidence that Tylee and J.J. were ever in Hawaii.”
The news release said the child protection action was filed by Rexburg City Police and the Madison County, Idaho Prosecutor’s Office on behalf of Tylee Ryan and J.J. Vallow.
Child protection actions are normally confidential and sealed to protect the anonymity of the parties. However, the Madison County Prosecutor’s Office has obtained an order from the Court on the case allowing the Rexburg Police Department to unseal and disclose the following:
1) The existence of the child protective action
2) An order from the Court requiring Lori Vallow to physically produce Tylee and J.J. to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare in Rexburg, Idaho or to the Rexburg Police within five days of being served with the order.
Failure to comply with this order may subject Lori Vallow to civil or criminal contempt of court.
“The Madison 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 news release said. “All other documents related to the child protection case remain under seal.”
On Sunday afternoon, the Kauai Police Department served a search warrant on the vehicle and persons of Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow. They were not arrested and have not been criminally charged.
EastIdahoNews.com approached the two in the parking lot of the resort after police finished their on-scene work Sunday. A reporter asked several questions, and Lori only responded to one.
When told people in eastern Idaho and across the country are praying for her missing children, she said, “That’s great.”
Chad Daybell is a former Utah resident, and is known for writing religious doomsday novels. The two married this fall, shortly after the mysterious deaths of both their spouses.
Charles Vallow, J.J.’s father, and a resident of Texas, was shot and killed in July 2019 after he and estranged wife Lori argued at a home in Gilbert, Arizona. Police said Charles was there to pick up J.J. when the fight broke out. Lori’s brother, Alex Cox, was also in the home and tried to intervene, only to be hit in the head with a baseball bat. Police said Cox then pulled a gun and shot Charles twice in the chest. Charles died of his wounds a short while later.
Cox and Lori Vallow were questioned by police, but no charges were filed in what investigators seemed to believe was a case of self-defense.
Cox subsequently died December 12. A cause of death has not been determined and it’s unclear if it was related to the injuries he sustained in the fight with Charles.
There’s also a cloud of suspicion surrounding the untimely death of Chad Daybell’s wife.
Tammy Daybell, 49, died suddenly outside the family home on Oct. 19, 2019. Her death, deemed natural at the time, is now being investigated as possibly suspicious. Her body, which was buried in Springville, Utah, was exhumed for testing. Findings have not yet been released.
Anyone with information about the whereabouts of the children is asked to call police or contact a dedicated website by clicking here. The children’s grandparents are offering a $20,000 reward for information leading directly to the children’s recovery.
