Mother of Missing Idaho Kids Arrested in Hawaii, Held on $5 Million Bail

Lori Vallow, also known as Lori Daybell, the mother of two Idaho children missing since September, was arrested in Hawaii on Feb. 20, 2020. Kauai Police Department

Lori Vallow, the woman wanted by Idaho authorities in connection to the disappearance of  two children, was arrested in Hawaii, officials announced.

The 46-year-old was arrested by the Kaua'i Police Department on a warrant that was issued out of Madison County, Idaho. Her bail is set at $5 million.

She was wanted in the disappearance of 7-year-old son Joshua “JJ” Vallow and 17-year-old Tylee Ryan, and, according to a probable cause affidavit, Vallow had allegedly instructed a friend to lie about the boy staying with her in Arizona, KTVB reported.

“First of all, we wish to thank the public for the massive outpouring of concern regarding this case,” Kaua‘i Chief of Police Todd G. Raybuck said in a statement. “We also want to thank everyone for their patience while investigators worked diligently to comprehensively gather everything they needed in order to obtain this arrest warrant.”

Rexburg Police Detective Ron Ball said he and another detective spoke to Vallow on Nov. 26. She told them that JJ was staying in Gilbert, Arizona, with a friend, Melanie Gibb.

JJ Vallow, 7, and Tylee Ryan, 17, were last seen in September. Rexburg Police Department

Gibb eventually contacted the police department on Dec. 6 and said Vallow and her husband, Chad Daybell, called her and asked her to lie about JJ staying with her. “This further establishes that the statement made to law enforcement by Lori Vallow on November 26, 2019 was false and that Lori Vallow knew it was false,” Ball wrote.

Vallow is facing multiple charges, including desertion and nonsupport of dependent children, said police. She appeared at a court hearing on Feb. 21 in Kaua'i and is due back in court on March 2 before she’s expected to be extradited to Idaho, ABC News reported.

A police affidavit also said that police found “no evidence or verification of anyone providing for the housing, food, clothing, education, or medical care” for the children since around September, ABC reported.

Tylee and JJ were last seen in September. JJ’s grandmother was the first to report him missing on Nov. 25, prompting authorities to perform a welfare check on the child. Police then executed search warrants at three apartments that were connected to the case, Fox News reported.

JJ was last seen attending Kennedy Elementary School in Rexburg on Sept. 23 before Vallow took her son out of class, saying she would homeschool him. Tylee Ryan was last seen on surveillance footage near the entrance of Yellowstone National Park, Fox reported.

JJ is described as a white male with brown hair and brown eyes, standing at around 4′0″ and weighing 50 pounds.  Tylee is described as a white female with blonde hair and blue eyes, standing at 5′0″ and weighing about 160 pounds.