Tylee Ryan (born September 24, 2002) and Joshua "J. J." Vallow (born May 25, 2012) are two American children from Rexburg, Idaho, who have not been seen since September 23, 2019. Prompted by relatives concerned not only about the kids they hadn't heard from in weeks, but also about other suspicious incidents, in November 2019 police questioned their mother, Lori Vallow, about the children's whereabouts and welfare.

Vallow and her new husband Chad Daybell told the police that J.J. was staying with Melanie Gibbs in Arizona, from where they had moved in early September. When police reached Gibbs by phone, she told police that Joshua was not with her and had not been there for several months. More than a week later, Gibbs called police saying that both Vallow and her husband, Chad Daybell, had asked her to lie to police about J.J.'s whereabouts but she refused. The efforts of police trying to find J. J. led them to know that his older sister Tylee Ryan was also missing.

The day after being questioned, Vallow and Daybell left Rexburg, abandoning a storage locker full of children's items and photos, and were not seen until they were found in Kauai, Hawaii on Sunday, January 26, 2020. A search warrant was issued to search their rental car. They found items belonging to the missing children. Police also gave Vallow a court order demanding she produce the children by January 30. The children were not produced as ordered.

Further complicating the children's disappearances and lack of cooperation from the mother are a string of suspicious deaths and a shooting: In July 2019, Vallow's estranged husband, Charles Vallow, was shot and killed in Phoenix, Arizona by Lori's brother, Alex Cox, allegedly in self-defense. Cox himself died of unknown causes in December 2019. In early October Brandon Boudreaux, the then-estranged husband of Lori Vallow's niece, Melani Boudreaux, was shot at in the driveway of his Gilbert, Arizona home from a vehicle still registered to the deceased Charles Vallow, which prompted Boudreaux to hire a private detective to investigate the suspicious incidents. It was private investigators hired by Boudreaux that observed the children missing in Idaho. Also in October, Chad Daybell's wife, Tammy Daybell, was attacked in her driveway by what she believed was someone shooting a defective paintball gun. A few weeks later, on October 19, she died in her sleep from what was initially recorded as "natural causes". No post-mortem or autopsy was performed. But when Chad Daybell married Lori Vallow just two weeks after Tammy's death, law enforcement became suspicious and the cause of death is now under further investigation.^[1][2][3]

Another factor contributing to the mystery is Lori Vallow's and Chad Daybell's apparent obsession with certain "end of times" beliefs, about which Daybell has written a number of books, and together they have discussed in podcasts. Reportedly Vallow's niece, Melani Boudreaux, also shares these beliefs.

On February 20, 2020, Lori Vallow Daybell was arrested in Kauai and charged with desertion and nonsupport of her dependent children, Tylee Ryan and J.J. Vallow. Vallow was extradited to Idaho and traveled there on Thursday, March 5, 2020^[4] She appeared in court on Friday, March 6 where the judge reduced the bail from $5 million to $1 million, but as of May 2, 2020, Vallow remains in jail. At least two local bond companies are reportedly unwilling to work with her.^[5]

On June 9, 2020, police executed a search warrant at Chad Daybell’s home where they discovered human remains.^[6] Daybell was booked into jail later that day on obstruction or concealment of evidence.^[7][8] On June 10, 2020, it was reported by the New York Post that Kay Woodcock, the biological grandmother of J. J. Vallow, confirmed to Fox 10 Phoenix reporter Justin Lum that one of the sets of human remains belonged to seven-year-old Vallow.^[9]

People

Chad Daybell

Chad Daybell
Daybell's 2020 mugshot
Born	Chad Guy Daybell (1968-08-11) August 11, 1968 (age 55)[10] Provo, Utah, U.S.[10]
Spouse(s)	Tamara Douglas ​ ​ (m. 1990; died 2019)​ Lori Vallow ​ (m. 2019)​
Children	5

Chad Guy Daybell was born August 11, 1968, in Provo, Utah.^[10] He married Tamara "Tammy" Douglas (born 1969 or 1970) in Manti, Utah on March 9, 1990. After graduating from Brigham Young University in 1992 with a B.A. in journalism,^[10] Daybell worked as a cemetery sexton, before establishing end of days publisher Spring Creek Book Company, in 2004, with Douglas, a graphic artist and manager.^[11] Chad and Tammy had 5 children: Garth, Emma, Seth, Leah, and Mark.^[10]

In 2015, Chad Daybell allegedly twice heard a voice telling him to relocate to Rexburg, Idaho; he and Tammy moved there from Springville, Utah that June.^[12]

On October 9, 2019, Tammy Daybell was assaulted in her driveway by a masked man with an unloaded or defective paintball marker; the Fremont County sheriff's office did not find the perpetrator. Ten days later she was found dead, purportedly from natural causes; Chad Daybell claimed that she had retired the night before "with a terrible cough" and died in her sleep. No post-mortem or autopsy was performed at the time as Chad Daybell declined and the county coroner, Brenda Dye, did not overrule his decision. Two months later, Tammy Daybell's body was exhumed and autopsied but the results have not been made public.^[12] On June 9, 2020, police executed a search warrant at Chad Daybell’s home where they discovered human remains. Daybell was booked into jail later that day on obstruction or concealment of evidence.^[13][14]

Lori Vallow

Lori Vallow
Vallow's 2020 mugshot
Born	Lori Norene Cox (1973-06-26) June 26, 1973 (age 50) San Bernardino, California, U.S.[15]
Spouse(s)	Unknown boyfriend ​ (m. 1992)​ William Lagioia ​ ​ (m. 1995; div. 1998)​ Joseph Anthony Ryan Jr. ​ ​ (m. 2001; div. 2005)​ Leland Anthony Vallow ​ ​ (m. 2006; died 2019)​ Chad Daybell ​ (m. 2019)​
Children	Colby Ryan Tylee Ryan Joshua Jaxon "J.J." Vallow

Lori Norene Vallow Daybell (née Cox) was born June 26, 1973, in San Bernardino, California.^[15] In 1992, she married an unnamed high-school boyfriend. At age 22, she married 23-year-old William Lagioia in Travis County, Texas, on October 22, 1995.^[16] She and Lagioia had a son, Colby, in 1996, before divorcing on February 25, 1998.^[12]

In 2001, Lori married Joseph Anthony Ryan Jr.^[12] Ryan legally adopted Colby before the couple had a daughter, Tylee, born in 2002, before he filed for divorce, on August 13, 2004; the divorce was finalized on May 18, 2005.^[12]

In 2007, Joseph Ryan was attacked by Lori's brother, Alexander "Alex" Cox, who tasered him and threatened to murder him, then pled guilty and was sentenced to 90 days in jail.^[17] Ryan died on April 3, 2018 of a myocardial infarction.^[12] Lori was known to the Ryan family as "Lolo".^[17]

On February 24, 2006 — 282 days after her previous divorce — Lori Ryan married Leland Anthony Vallow, known as Charles Vallow, in Las Vegas,^[12] who had converted to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In 2013, the couple adopted Vallow's grandnephew, Joshua Jaxon "J.J." Vallow (born 2012 or 2013),^[18] before moving to Kauai in late 2014.^[12]

Around 2015, Lori Vallow read Daybell's Standing in Holy Places series of books, becoming "obsessed" with them (according to a friend). After about two and a half years in Hawaii, the Vallow family moved to Arizona. On December 5, 2018, she first joined Daybell on the podcast Preparing a People (episode "Time to Warrior Up"), and would do so more in the future.^[12] In February 2019, Lori Vallow told her husband that "she no longer cared about him or J.J.", and that she was the reincarnated wife of Joseph Smith, before vanishing for 58 days.^[18] That same month, Charles Vallow filed for divorce, saying that his wife had "threaten[ed] to murder him" and stolen US$35,000 (equivalent to $41,710 in 2023); Vallow withdrew the petition in March saying he "wanted to try to make the marriage work".^[12]

In March 2020, an email written by police in Arizona, revealed that Lori Vallow could soon be indicted in relation to the death of her ex-husband, Charles Vallow. A wedding ring was purchased on Amazon for $35.99 on October 2, 2019, 17 days before Chad Daybell's first wife, Tammy, aged 49, passed away in her sleep. Vallow paid for the ring on her deceased husband's Amazon account. The ring was delivered to a Rexburg townhouse and was in the name of the now-deceased Charles Vallow. Lori Vallow continued to use Charles's account after his death.^[19]

Disappearance

As of September 23, 2019^[update], a doorbell video of J.J. Vallow playing with a friend is the last video of him taken. Rexburg's Kennedy Elementary School is the last confirmed place he was seen.^[18] On September 24, 2019, Lori Vallow contacted J.J.'s school to tell them that she has withdrawn him from the school because she would be homeschooling him. Tylee Ryan was last seen at Yellowstone National Park with J.J., Lori Vallow, and her brother Alex Cox on September 8, 2019. Chad Daybell became unexpectedly incommunicado, last speaking with filmmaker Devin K. Hansen via text messaging.^[12] In October, two Venmo payments were made from Tylee's account to her older half-brother, Colby Ryan. One payment was sent on October 10, 2019 with a message that read "we love you.", and the second payment was sent on October 16, 2019 with a heart emoji.^[12] Colby said he had not heard from Tylee since October. After text-messaging Tylee indicating he was worried, he received responses from Tylee's cell phone that indicated she was safe, but too busy to talk.^[12] After repeated unanswered calls to Tylee, he became more worried.^[20]

Vallow and Daybell

Vallow and Daybell were married in Hawaii on November 5, 2019^[21]. Also in November, they were both telling people that Tylee Ryan had died in 2017, or that Lori had no minor children. At the request of J.J.'s grandmother, the police visited the Lori Daybell's Rexburg, Idaho townhouse on November 26 to conduct a welfare check on J.J., but Vallow told police that the J.J. was in Arizona with family.^[12] That night, a neighbor saw Lori Vallow and her brother packing a truck outside her home. When the police and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrived the next day to search the home, it was abandoned. Chad Daybell's home was also searched by investigators.^[22]

From December 2019 – January 2020, the Rexburg police, Fremont County sheriff's office, and FBI increased the investigation into Ryan and Vallow's disappearance, Tamara Daybell's "suspicious death", and the Daybells' flight from Idaho: evidence was collected, and Tamara Daybell's body was exhumed for autopsy. Colby Ryan and J.J. Vallow's grandparents pleaded with the Daybells to return the children, with the latter offering a reward of $20,000 (equivalent to $23,546 in 2023). Investigators contended that "'Joshua and Tylee's lives are in danger.', [...] the children are not with Chad and Lori. [... Lori] knows where they are or what has happened to them, but has 'completely refused to assist this investigation, [choosing instead to leave the state with her new husband.'" Through their lawyer, the Daybells said, "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."^[12]

Storage locker

A storage locker rented by Lori Vallow in October 2019 which contained items belonging to, or related to, J.J. Vallow and Tylee Ryan, such as clothing, bikes, and photographs, was abandoned by her when she suddenly left Rexburg, Idaho, at the end of November 2019. Video footage shows her and others moving items in and out of the locker.^[23]

Arrest of Lori Vallow

On February 20, 2020, Lori Vallow was arrested by the Kauai Police Department in Princeville on the Hawaiian island of Kauai and charged with two felony counts of desertion and nonsupport of dependent children. She was also charged with resisting or obstructing officers, criminal solicitation to commit a crime and contempt of court. She was being held on $5 million bail.^[24] She later agreed to be extradited back to Idaho to fight the charges. The judge lowered her bail from $5 million to $1 million.

In a March 24, 2020 report, it was noted in official court documents that Vallow and Daybell had been convinced that Tylee and J. J. had been "possessed" and become "zombies."^[25]

On May 1, 2020, Vallow appeared for a court hearing in Rexburg, Idaho, to request a reduction of her $1 million bail. The judge denied her request.^[26]

Timeline

Before Kauai: Marriages, adoption, and attack on Joseph Ryan by Alex Cox

• March 9, 1990 — Chad and Tamara "Tammy" Daybell are married
• 2001 — Lori marries Tylee's father, third husband, Joseph Anthony Ryan Jr.
• February 24, 2006 — Lori weds fourth husband, Charles Vallow
• 2007 — Joseph Ryan is attacked by Lori's brother, Alex Cox, who pleads guilty and is sentenced to 90 days in jail
• July 2014 — Lori and Charles officially adopt the offspring of a child of Charles' sister, Kay Woodcock, who is Charles' grandnephew by birth, Joshua "J.J." Vallow

Lori and Charles in Kauai

• End of 2014 — Charles and Lori move to Kauai, Hawaii with Tylee and J.J
• 2015 — Lori is reported to be obsessed with Chad Daybell's doomsday books

Lori and Charles move to Arizona; Charles killed by Alex Cox; Joseph dies; Lori joins Chad's podcast

• mid 2017 — Vallows move to Arizona
• April 3, 2018 — Joseph Ryan dies of apparent heart attack
• December 5, 2018 — The first documented connection of Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow, on his podcast
• February 2019 to March 2019 — Lori mysteriously disappears for 58 days
• February 8, 2019 — Charles Vallow files for divorce from Lori. In the filing, Charles claims that, in late January 2019, Lori threatened to murder him if he got in the way of her preparations for Christ's second coming in July 2020^[27]
• July 11, 2019 — Charles is shot and killed by Lori's brother, Alexander Cox, who claims self-defense. Neighbors report loud pool party at the same home later that day.
• July 12, 2019 — The next day Lori notifies Charles' sons from another marriage about his death, via text. She repeatedly dodges their questions regarding his cause of death.^[28]
• July 2019 — Days after Charles' death Lori finds out that Charles had changed the beneficiary of his million dollar life insurance policy from Lori to his sister, Kay Woodcock, who is also J.J.'s paternal grandmother^[29]
• August 10, 2019 — The last time grandparents Larry and Kay Woodcock reportedly speak with J.J.
• August 30, 2019 — Lori returns J.J.'s service dog, citing "a change in life circumstances" ^[30]

Lori moves to Rexburg area of Salem, Idaho; J. J. and Tylee disappear; Boudreaux attacked; Tammy dies; Lori weds Chad

• September 2019 — Lori, with Tylee, and J.J., moves to Rexburg, Idaho to be with Chad Daybell
• September 8, 2019 — Tylee is last seen, in Yellowstone, along with Lori, Alex and J.J.^[30]
• September 23, 2019 — J.J. is last seen, at his new school, Kennedy Elementary in Rexburg, Idaho
• September 24, 2019 — Lori informs J.J.'s school that he will no longer be attending and will be homeschooled instead ^[30]
• October 1, 2019 — Lori rents storage locker in Rexburg in which children's belongings are later found
• October 2, 2019 — Brandon Boudreaux, Lori Vallow's nephew-in-law, is the target of a failed drive-by shooting in Gilbert, Arizona, by someone driving a green Jeep Cherokee still registered to Charles Vallow^[31]
• October 9, 2019 — Tammy Daybell calls police after a masked assailant attempted to shoot her with a paintball gun
• October 19, 2019 — Tammy Daybell is found dead in her home in Salem, Idaho,^[32] which neighbors Rexburg, approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) away^[33] The death was initially ruled due to natural causes, but as of February 11, 2020, was under investigation^[34]
• October 2019 — Lori's brother, Alex Cox, believed to be seen on video security footage using Lori's storage unit numerous times during this period, usually alone^[35]
• October 31/November 1 2019 Alex Cox and Lori's niece, Melani Boudreaux, reportedly seen by Melani's ex-husband Brandon Boudreaux packing up in Chandler, Arizona, "before driving up to Rexburg", and discarding children's items on the curb. Some of the information comes from a private investigator hired by Brandon Boudreaux after the October 2 shooting^[36]
• November 4, 2019 — Alex Cox and Melani Boudreaux arrive in Rexburg
• November 5, 2019 — Lori Vallow and husband #5, Chad Daybell, are married in Hawaii
• November 26, 2019 — Rexburg Police Department conducts a well-being check on J.J. Lori claims J.J. is with relatives in Arizona And Tylee is away at college at BYU - Idaho.
• November 27, 2019 — Chad and Lori are seen packing. They abandon everything in Rexburg, including the contents of Lori's storage unit, and disappear until found in Kauai in late January
• November 27, 2019 — Rexburg police search for children, to no avail, with search warrants to the three apartments of Lori, Alex and Lori's niece Melani Boudreaux ^[37]
• November 29, 2019 — Alex Cox marries Zulema Pastenes of Gilbert, Arizona in Las Vegas^[12][38]
• November 30, 2019 — Newly divorced Melani Boudreaux marries Ian Pawlowski of Rexburg in Las Vegas^[12]

Lori and Chad in Kauai; Alex dies mysteriously; Lori and Chad arrested.

• December 11, 2019 — Authorities decide to further investigate the death of Tammy Daybell
• December 12, 2019 — Alexander Cox dies for unknown reasons in Gilbert, Arizona. A 911 call is made by someone who says Alex is their mother's "boyfriend" and to report his collapse in the bathroom of the home of his new wife, Zulema Pastenes^[39]
• December 20, 2019 — Rexburg Police Department officially announce an investigation into the disappearance of Tylee and J.J.
• January 3, 2020 — Rexburg Police Department and FBI search Chad and Tammy's former home in Idaho
• January 25, 2020 — Local authorities locate Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow in Kauai, Hawaii and serve Lori with court order requiring her to produce the children with five days
• January 30, 2020 — Lori misses court-ordered deadline to produce J.J. and Tylee
• February 10, 2020 — CBS News reports police found Tylee's cell phone with Lori's belongings in Hawaii^[40]
• February 16, 2020 — Lori and Chad reportedly leave Kauai, for Maui^[41]
• February 20, 2020 — Lori Vallow is arrested in Kauai and charged with two felony counts of desertion and nonsupport of dependent children^[42]
• February 24, 2020 — In child custody court documents,^[43] Brandon Boudreax claims that his ex-wife's (Melani Boudreaux, niece of Lori Vallow) new husband revealed to law enforcement that she conspired with her uncle Alex Cox to kill Brandon Brandon also alleges in these papers that police are investigating Melani's role in the disappearance of the children as well as in the shooting at Brandon^[44]
• February 26, 2020 — In extradition hearing judge refuses to lower Lori's bail, so it remains at $5 million which apparently Lori can't afford. So, she remains incarcerated in Kauai awaiting extradition to Idaho
• March 6, 2020 — In first hearing after being extradited from Hawaii to Idaho, court lowers bail from $5 million to $1 million
• March 9, 2020 — Lori remains in jail; local bail bonds companies declined to work with her^[45]
• June 9, 2020 — Human remains were found on Chad Daybell's property in Salem, Idaho. Daybell was booked into jail later that day on charges of obstruction or concealment of evidence.^[46]. The remains are confirmed to be that of the two missing children, JJ and Tylee.

See also

• List of people who disappeared

References

External links

• Dateline: Where Are the Children? "Keith Morrison previews Dateline special on Daybell case that is ‘nothing like anything else’ he’s ever seen" Nate Eaton, East Idaho News, 13 February 2020.
• Standing in Holy Places: The Official Website of Author Chad Daybell