Lori Vallow Daybell's Husband In Custody; Human Remains Found

Chad Daybell — the fifth husband of former Phoenix resident Lori Vallow, whose children haven’t been seen since last fall — was taken into custody Tuesday by authorities in Rexburg, Idaho, after human remains were found on his property, investigators said.

Daybell was not arrested or charged, but was taken into custody for questioning while his property was searched for a second time, investigators said. The remains have not been identified and the search warrant is sealed.

Rexburg Assistant Police chief Gary Hagan said in a statement that the search was related to the disappearance of Vallow’s two minor children — 7-year-old Johsua “J.J.” Vallow and 17-year-old Tylee Ryan. The tangled missing persons case involving rumors of a religious cult, doomsday preparations and several suspicious deaths has received worldwide attention.

“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.

Related: Doomsday Couple, Suspicious Deaths At Center Of Missing Kids Case

Lori Vallow Daybell remains in custody at an Idaho county jail on $1 million bail on charges of abandonment and obstructing the investigation into her children’s whereabouts. Her new husband has not been charged, but authorities are taking a second look at the death of his wife, Tammy, two weeks before he and Lori Vallow were married in Hawaii.

Vallow moved from the Phoenix to the Rexburg area just a few weeks after her fourth husband, Charles Vallow, was shot and killed by her brother, Alex Cox, who claimed he acted in self-defense. Cox has since died, and authorities have said he died of a pulmonary blood clot. Phoenix area police have reportedly reopened the investigation into Charles Vallow’s death after other developments came to light.

Charles Vallow had filed for divorce five months before he was killed. He had previously gotten a protection order, according to court documents painting a picture of a woman who believed she was a “translated being” and “a god assigned to carry out the work of the 144,000 at Christ’s second coming in July 2020.”

In Salem, Idaho, Tammy Daybell died suddenly in October. The Idaho Attorney General’s Office had initially not considered her death suspicious, but ordered the body exhumed in December. There’s no word yet on the results of toxicology and autopsy results.

By the time Lori Vallow moved to Idaho, she and Chad Daybell, the author of several apocalyptic novels loosely based on Mormon theology, were well acquainted. Both had been involved in a group that promotes preparedness for biblical Armageddon, police have said.

They appeared together in a Dec. 5, 2018, podcast, “Time to Warrior Up,” according to a timeline put together by the East Idaho News. In multiple books, blog posts and podcasts about the apocalypse, Daybell claims to have previously died and had near-death experiences that allowed him to see into the future.

Tylee was last seen in September during a family day trip to Yellowstone National Park. J.J. was last seen by school officials several days later. Relatives raised concerns about not hearing from the children, and police began investigating.

Chad and Lori Daybell claimed they were staying with friends.

Authorities last searched Chad Daybell’s home in January in connection with Tammy Daybell’s death. They removed more than 40 items, including several pieces of computer equipment.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.