Rexburg, Idaho • Authorities are searching for two children tied to a suspicious death case in Idaho. On Saturday, the Rexburg Police Department said the children’s mother and stepfather are wanted for questioning in connection with their disappearance.
Joshua Vallow, 7, and Tylee Ryan, 17, have not been seen since September 2019, according to a Rexburg police department news release. Vallow has brown hair and brown eyes and is 4 feet tall. He sometimes goes by the nickname JJ. Ryan has blond hair and blue eyes and is 5 feet tall.
Rexburg police are asking for the public’s help in locating the children’s mother, Lori Vallow — who may be using the last name Daybell — and their stepfather, Chad Daybell. Lori Vallow is the second wife of Chad Daybell. Police said the parents never reported the kids missing, have repeatedly lied about where their children are and aren’t cooperating with the investigation.
(Photos courtesy of Rexburg Police Department) Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow are wanted for questioning in connection with the disappearance of their children, Joshua Vallow, 7, and Tylee Ryan, 17, who have not been seen since September.
Lori Vallow is 46, is 5 feet 6 inches tall, and has blond hair and blue eyes. Daybell is 51, is 6 feet 3 inches tall, and has brown hair and blue eyes.
The search for the children began in November, when police tried to do a welfare check on the 7-year-old boy after a relative called because they hadn’t talked to him since September. The boy was adopted and has special needs.
Lori Vallow and Daybell initially said the boy was in Arizona, but police said that was a lie.
Though Rexburg police haven't disclosed the exact nature of the connection, authorities note the new marriage happened shortly after Daybell's first wife, Tammy Daybell, was found dead at home in October.
Initially thought to be a natural death, Tammy Daybell's remains have since been exhumed in Utah where she was buried. An autopsy is being conducted in December as authorities now investigate what may be suspicious circumstances behind the woman's death.
Police are asking anyone with information about the children to call Rexburg police at 208-359-3000 or report it to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.