Mother, stepfather of missing Idaho siblings found in Hawaii, confronted by reporter
Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell vanished in November 2019 amid the police investigation into the disappearance of Lori's two children.
Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell, the mother and stepfather of two children who have been missing since September, were located in Hawaii on Sunday, officials confirmed.
The two kids, originally from Arizona, vanished shortly after moving to Idaho some five months ago.
Joshua “JJ” Vallow, 7, and Tylee Ryan, 17, were not found with the couple in Kauai, according to authorities. Their mother was ordered to physically produce the two children before a court in Idaho within five days, Fox 10 Phoenix reported.
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Kauai Police pulled over Lori Vallow, 46, and Chad Daybell, 51, Sunday around 3:30 p.m. as they were riding in a black Ford Explorer along the Kuhio Highway, East Idaho News reported. The rental vehicle pulled into the parking lot of the Kauai Beach Resort. They were stopped and put in two separate police vehicles as officers executed a search warrant on the SUV they were driving. The Ford Explorer was eventually taken away by tow truck.
Police also executed a search warrant of their home in Princeville, Hawaii. The couple was detained briefly but not arrested. Federal authorities and eastern Idaho law enforcement aided in carrying out the warrants.
Joshua Vallow, 7, and Tylee Ryan, 17, are being sought by police in Rexberg, Idaho. Investigators are saying their mother, Lori Daybell, knows what happened to them but refuses to cooperate. (Rexberg Police Department)
Lori Vallow was served with a child protection order to physically produce the two children to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare in Rexburg, Idaho, within five days or risk being subjected to civil or criminal contempt of court, the Rexburg Police Department said in a Facebook post.
East Idaho News released a video of the couple walking after they were released from custody in Hawaii – giving minimal response to a reporter who insistently asked about the children’s well-being.
The couple had disappeared in November and have been wanted for questioning about the children's whereabouts.
Lori Vallow married Chad Daybell, an author of several religious-themed fiction books about prophecies and the end of the world, in October 2019 — a month after her children were last seen alive and just days after Daybell’s 49-year-old wife, Tammy Daybell, died Oct. 19 in her Idaho home. Her death was initially ruled due to natural causes. Authorities later exhumed her body for an autopsy but the results have not been released, AZ Family reported.
Family members of Lori Vallow have accused her of joining a cult. Earlier this month, a third son, Colby Ryan, posted a video to YouTube making an emotional plea to his mother for any information regarding what happened to his siblings.
Before moving to Idaho, Lori lived in Chandler, Ariz., with her two children.
In July 2019, Lori’s estranged husband, 62-year-old Charles Vallow, was shot dead in their home by her brother, Alexander Lamar Cox. The brother told police he acted in self-defense when Vallow refused to back away from his sister. He also said 17-year-old Tylee had first taken out an aluminum baseball bat to defend her mother against Vallow.
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Cox was never arrested for the shooting but died unexpectedly in December. His death is under investigation by another Arizona police department, Fox 10 Phoenix previously reported.
According to The Associated Press, Lori Vallow was sued for divorce by her estranged husband, who alleged that she had become infatuated with near-death experiences and claimed to have lived numerous lives on other planets before her current life.
He also accused her of threatening to ruin him financially and to kill him, according to court records, which noted that Charles Vallow sought an order of protection and a voluntary evaluation of his wife at a mental health facility, the AP reported.
Fox News' Robert Gearty and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
