Human Remains Found in Idaho Identified as Lori Vallow’s Children

Human Remains Found in Idaho Identified as Lori Vallow’s Children
Joshua “JJ” Vallow (L) and Tylee Ryan. (National Center for Missing & Exploited Children/AP)
6/13/2020
Updated:
6/14/2020

Idaho police confirmed the two sets of human remains found at Chad Daybell’s home were those of two missing children who had not been seen since September, according to a news release issued Saturday.

Daybell is married to Lori Vallow, the mother of the children, 17-year-old Tylee Ryan and 7-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow.

A search warrant was executed Tuesday at Daybell’s home in Fremont County, near the Wyoming border, where the remains were found. After being taken to the medical examiner’s office, the bodies were identified as JJ and Tylee.

Kay and Larry Woodcock. (Courtesy of EastIdahoNews.com)
Kay and Larry Woodcock. (Courtesy of EastIdahoNews.com)

“It is not the outcome we had hoped; to be able to find the children safe. Our hearts and prayers go out to the families of JJ and Tylee,” the Rexburg Police Department said in a news release.

Tylee was last seen when she visited Yellowstone National Park on September 8 with her brother, her mother and her uncle, Alex Cox, according to authorities. JJ was last seen at a school in Idaho later that month.

Vallow and Daybell married in November, not long after their previous spouses died and Vallow’s children were last seen.

Daybell appeared in court Wednesday on charges of destroying evidence. His bail was set at $1 million.

Chad Daybell in a booking photo provided by the Rexburg Police Department. (Rexburg Police Department/AP)
Chad Daybell in a booking photo provided by the Rexburg Police Department. (Rexburg Police Department/AP)

The charges against Daybell are part of a sprawling investigation that has stretched from Idaho to Arizona to Hawaii, picked up connections to a deep religious ideology, and raised new questions about the deaths of other family members.

Vallow is currently awaiting trial for multiple charges, including two felony counts of desertion and nonsupport of children, according to a criminal complaint filed with an Idaho court.

The CNN Wire contributed to this report.