Joshua Vallow, 7, and Tylee Ryan, 17, are being sought by police in Rexberg, Idaho. (Photo credit: Rexberg Police Department)
BOISE, Idaho (AP) - Authorities said they uncovered human remains at an Idaho man’s home Tuesday as they investigated the disappearance of his new wife’s two children — a case that’s drawn global attention for its ties to two other mysterious deaths and the couple’s doomsday beliefs.
Chad Daybell, who married the children’s mother, Lori Vallow Daybell, was taken into custody after investigators searched his property, according to police in the small town of Rexburg. He has not been charged, and his attorney, Mark Means, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Seven-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow and 17-year-old Tylee Ryan haven’t been seen since September, and police say Chad and Lori Daybell lied to investigators about the children’s whereabouts before quietly leaving Idaho. They were found in Hawaii months later. Besides the missing children, the couple has been under scrutiny following the deaths of both of their former spouses.
Rexburg police and investigators from the FBI and the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office searched Chad Daybell’s home in the eastern Idaho town of Salem for the second time. The search warrant is sealed, and Rexburg Assistant Police Chief Gary Hagan said in a statement that he couldn’t reveal details other than to say the search was linked to the children’s disappearance.
“Throughout the investigation, detectives and investigators have recovered what’s believed to be human remains that have not been identified at this time,” Hagan said.
Lori Daybell is charged with child abandonment and obstructing the investigation and has pleaded not guilty. The Idaho attorney general’s office announced this year that it was investigating Chad Daybell in the death of his first wife, Tammy Daybell.
The complicated case began last summer, when Lori Daybell’s brother shot and killed her estranged husband, Charles Vallow, in Phoenix. Her brother, Alex Cox, said the shooting was in self-defense. Charles Vallow had filed for divorce, claiming Lori believed she had become a god-like figure who was responsible for ushering in the biblical end times. Cox died in December of an apparent blood clot in his lung.
Shortly after Charles Vallow’s death, Lori and her children moved to Idaho, where Chad Daybell lived. He ran a small publishing company, where he published many of his own fiction books that centered on apocalyptic scenarios loosely based on Mormon theology. He also participated in podcasts about preparing for biblical end times, and friends said he claimed to be able to receive visions from “beyond the veil.”
Tylee was last seen in September headed into Yellowstone National Park with her mom and other family for a day trip, and JJ was last seen by school officials several days later.
Police began investigating the children’s whereabouts after relatives raised concerns. Investigators have said both Chad and Lori Daybell claimed the children were staying with friends.
Tammy Daybell died in her sleep last October of what her obituary said were natural causes. Authorities grew suspicious when Chad Daybell married Lori just two weeks later, and they had Tammy Daybell’s body exhumed in December. The results of that autopsy have not been released.
Law enforcement officers first searched Chad Daybell’s home on Jan. 3 in connection with his first wife’s death, removing more than 40 items including several pieces of computer equipment.