Mother of missing kids with link to Arizona loses bid for lower bail
The mother of two missing children with ties to Arizona appeared in a Hawaii court Friday where a request for her bail to be reduced was denied and an extradition hearing was set for March.
Lori Vallow’s children, Joshua “JJ” Vallow, 7, and Tylee Ryan, 17, have been missing from Rexburg, Idaho, since September, sparking a nationwide manhunt and international interest, including in Arizona where the children once lived.
Authorities have said Lori and her husband, Chad Daybell, have not cooperated in their investigation into the children’s disappearance and, last month, Lori did not comply with a court order to “produce” her children in Idaho.
Lori, 46, was arrested Thursday by the Kauai Police Department after a warrant out of Madison County, Idaho, was issued days earlier for her arrest. She faces charges in Idaho of two felony counts of desertion and nonsupport of dependent children and one count of resisting or obstructing officers, criminal solicitation to commit a crime and contempt of court, according to the warrant.
Attorney says arrest was ‘made-for-media event’
Lori barely spoke in her court appearance Friday afternoon, only occasionally nodding or answering “yes” to the judge.
During the appearance, Lori’s attorney requested her bail be reduced from $5 million to $10,000, arguing that she has a rented condominium with her husband in Kauai and does not have a passport, so she is not likely to flee.
Her defense attorney is Daniel Hempey, according to East Idaho News.
Hempey referred to her arrest as “maybe a made-for-media event at taxpayer expense.”
He also said that, after she was arrested Thursday, she was “M.I.A. for hours,” because “the Idaho police were questioning her with the Kauai police.”
A judge, however, ruled to keep Lori’s bail at $5 million and set an extradition hearing for March 2.
Daybell, who Kauai police said was not arrested, was seen sitting in the courtroom Friday.
About two hours after Lori court appearance, the Kauai Police Department held a press conference to provide details about her arrest and the department’s involvement in the case, which was only to support authorities in Rexburg, said Kauai Police Chief Todd Raybuck.
“We are all hopeful that we are able to locate the missing children, Tylee and JJ,” he said.
The department was asked by the Rexburg Police Department last December to locate Lori and Daybell, according to Raybuck.
They were later asked to serve Lori with an order to “produce” her children in Idaho and search the couple’s residence and vehicle, he said.
On Feb. 20, they received an arrest warrant for Lori and took her into custody without incident, Raybuck said.
Connections to Arizona investigations
Lori and the children lived in Arizona for years before moving to Idaho and are tied to police investigations in metro Phoenix into the deaths of Charles Vallow and Alex Cox.
Lori’s estranged former husband, Charles Vallow, was killed in Chandler in July. Charles, 62, came from Texas to visit Lori and their children. But after he arrived to pick up his son, Joshua, Charles and Lori started arguing.
Lori’s brother, Alex Cox, intervened and killed Charles, police said at the time. The Chandler Police Department confirmed Thursday they are still investigating his death.
Alex Cox died in December under still-murky circumstances. The Gilbert Police Department confirmed on Thursday that it was still awaiting autopsy results to determine the cause of death.