Human Remains Found at Property of Man Tied to Missing Kids

Rebecca Boone of The Associated Press wrote:BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Human remains have been found at an Idaho man’s home that was searched Tuesday during an investigation into the disappearance of his new wife's two children — a case that has vexed investigators since last year and attracted worldwide attention.

Chad Daybell, who recently married the children’s mother, Lori Vallow Daybell, was taken into custody, 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 both Chad and Lori Daybell lied to investigators about the children's whereabouts. Besides the missing children, the couple has been under scrutiny following the deaths of both of their former spouses and drew attention for their doomsday beliefs.

Rexburg police, along with investigators from the FBI and the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office, were searching 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 disappearance of the children.

“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.

Police wouldn’t answer any additional questions right now, he said.

Lori Daybell is awaiting trial on charges of 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 wife at the time, Tammy Daybell.

The complicated case began last summer, when Lori Daybell's ex-husband Charles Vallow was shot to death by her brother, Alex Cox, in Phoenix. At the time, Cox said the shooting was in self-defense. Charles and Lori Vallow had been estranged, and in divorce documents Charles Vallow claimed 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. 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 Tammy's death, removing more than 40 items including several pieces of computer equipment.

Michael Ruiz of FOX News wrote:The relatives of “cult mom” Lori Vallow's missing children made the grim announcement Wednesday that remains found on an Idaho farm this week were the children -- Joshua “JJ” Vallow, 7, and Tylee Ryan, 17.

Police arrested Chad Daybell, Vallow's husband and the writer of more than a dozen self-published doomsday novels, on Tuesday after finding human remains on his property. He faced felony counts of destroying and concealing evidence. A judge set his bail at $1 million Wednesday.

Vallow, the so-called "cult mom," was the mother of both missing children.

JJ’s remains were among those found on Daybell’s property, his grandmother, Kay Woodcock, told Fox 10 Phoenix Wednesday -- before the children's relatives in the Woodcock and Ryan families released a joint statement that said Tylee's remains were discovered there as well.

Rexberg Police confirmed they found two sets on Daybell’s property during a search Tuesday.

Rob Wood, the special prosecutor handling the case, said investigators found the concealment of at least one of the bodies "to be particularly egregious," Fox 10's Justin Lum reported.

Daybell and Vallow were married in November 2019 -- a month after Chad Daybell’s previous wife, Tammy Daybell, died at home. The family reportedly declined an autopsy before her burial in Utah. The children were first reported missing by their grandparents a month before that.

A local investigation grew into an interstate probe that attracted global attention as details continued to emerge. The short span between Tammy Daybell’s death and Chad Daybell’s new marriage initially raised suspicions, and investigators exhumed her body, according to Fox 10. The results of the ensuing autopsy have not been publicly released.

Vallow’s former husband, Charles Vallow, was shot and killed in a Phoenix suburb in July 2019 by Lori Vallow’s brother, Alex Cox.

He claimed the shooting was in self-defense and died that December. A coroner ruled that his death was the result of natural causes -- a blood clot in his lung, according to Fox 10.

Charles Vallow had filed for divorce from his wife, claiming he was afraid she might kill him and that she held apocalyptic beliefs, according to the outlet -- including that she was “a god assigned to carry out the work of the 144,000 at Christ’s second coming in July 2020.”

The 144,000 number appears in the Bible and has varying religious significance among different Christian groups.

After her previous husband’s death, Lori Vallow moved with her children to Rexburg, Idaho.

She was living there with Daybell when the children’s grandparents asked local police to perform a wellness check.

Investigators say Daybell and Vallow allegedly lied about the children’s whereabouts and left for Hawaii.

That’s where police arrested Lori Vallow in February on child abandonment charges. She was again living with Daybell.

She was extradited to Idaho and remains in custody on $1 million bail.