2 missing Idaho kids are in danger and mom 'completely refused' to help find them, police say
PHOENIX – Idaho police say they believe the mother of two missing children with ties to ongoing police investigations in Arizona knows where they are or what happened to them.
Tylee Ryan, 17, and Joshua Vallow, 7, were last seen in Rexburg, Idaho, on Sept. 23. Their disappearance is being investigated by the Rexburg Police Department with assistance from the FBI.
The children's mother, Lori Vallow, and her current husband, Chad Daybell, however, have "completely refused" to help police, Rexburg police said in a released statement Monday.
"We know that the children are not with Lori and Chad Daybell, and we also have information indicating that Lori knows either the location of the children or what has happened to them," the police statement says. "It is astonishing that rather than work with law enforcement to help us locate her own children, Lori Vallow has chosen instead to leave the state with her new husband."
Police say they believe the children's lives are in danger.
In recent months, Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell told people that Lori's daughter, Tylee, had died and that Lori had no minor children, according to police.
The couple are both wanted for questioning in connection with the children's disappearance, police said. They have not been called suspects, and no charges have been filed.
Family and friends of the couple described Lori and Chad's religious beliefs as cult-like and said they often spoke about the end of the world.
Idaho children had not been reported missing
An investigation into the two children's disappearance began Nov. 26 when Rexburg police tried to do a welfare check on Joshua Vallow, who has special needs, police said.
Family from outside of Idaho were concerned because they hadn't spoken to Joshua since September, according to police.
The boy last attended school in Rexburg on Sep. 23, and Tylee also had not been heard from or seen since September, police said.
Neither was reported missing.
Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell told investigators that Joshua was staying with a family friend in Arizona, which police discovered was untrue.
A day after the welfare check, on Nov. 27, police learned the pair "abruptly vacated" their home and left town.
Previously reported: Search ongoing for missing Idaho children as 'devoted mother' and new husband hire lawyer
Parents both have dead spouses
Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell only recently married and were each previously married to people whose deaths are under investigation.
The couple married weeks after the death of Chad's wife, Tammy Daybell, 49, in October. Authorities initially believed the woman died of natural causes but have since determined it may be suspicious.
On Dec. 20, Rexburg police posted on Facebook that it, along with the Fremont County (Idaho) Sheriff's Office and the assistance of the FBI, was investigating possible ties between the two missing children and the death of Tammy Daybell.
Two of Lori Vallow's previous husbands died in the past two years. Joseph Ryan died of an apparent heart attack in 2018 in Gilbert, Fox 10 Phoenix reported.
Lori Vallow's estranged former husband, Charles Vallow was killed in July while visiting her and the children in Chandler. The pair began arguing and Lori Vallow's brother, Alex Cox, killed Charles Vallow, Chandler police said at the time.
Cox died five months later on Dec. 12. The cause of death is unknown, Gilbert officials said.
It's unknown how or if these cases directly relate to the two missing children.
Investigations into Tammy Daybell, Charles Vallow and Alex Cox's deaths are ongoing.
Follow Chelsea Curtis on Twitter: @curtis_chels.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Missing Idaho kids are in danger; mom Lori Vallow won't help police
