Police Confirm Remains Found On Idaho Farm Are Lori Vallow's Kids

REXBURG, ID — Authorities on Saturday confirmed the identities of two sets of human remains found earlier this week as 7-year-old Joshua "J.J." Vallow and 17-year-old Tylee Ryan. The remains were discovered at a rural Idaho property owned by Chad Daybell.

Daybell, who married former Phoenix resident Lori Vallow weeks after relatives began questioning the whereabouts of her minor children, was arrested Tuesday and charged with destroying or concealing the remains.

In a statement, Rexburg Assistant Police Chief Gary Hagen said "it was not the outcome we had hoped," but thanked everyone involved for their diligent and tireless efforts to find J.J. and Tylee.

The case of the missing children has attracted global attention because of the doomsday beliefs of Daybell and his new wife, and the mysterious deaths of their former spouses.

Lori Vallow was living in a Phoenix suburb last July when her estranged fourth husband, Charles Vallow, was shot and killed by her brother, Alex Cox, who died in December of an apparent blood clot in his lung.

Police in Arizona initially said Cox acted in self-defense when he shot Vallow but are now taking a new look at the case. Vallow had filed for divorce, saying in court documents that his wife 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."

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Shortly after Charles Vallow died, his widow and the children moved to Idaho, where Chad Daybell lived and ran a small publishing company, which put out many fiction books on apocalyptic scenarios loosely based on Mormon theology.

Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell were well-acquainted by that time. They had 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 preparing for biblical end times, Daybell claims to have previously died and had near-death experiences that allowed him to see into the future.

Chad and Lori Vallow Daybell were married in November, two weeks after his wife, Tammy Daybell, died in her sleep. Authorities have exhumed her body and are continuing the investigation, but autopsy and toxicology reports haven't been released.

The children were last seen in September. Tylee was pictured at a family outing to Yellowstone National Park on Sept. 8, about the same day the first body was hidden or destroyed, Madison County, Idaho, Prosecutor Rob Wood said in court documents.

The second body was disposed of on or after Sept. 22, the last known day J.J. was seen, according to the court documents.

Investigators believe Daybell either concealed or helped hide the remains knowing they were about to be used as evidence in court.

Larry Woodcock, J.J.'s grandfather, told the Post Register in Idaho Falls earlier this week that "both children are no longer with us."

Larry and Kay Woodcock, along with Colby Ryan, Lori Vallow Daybell's son, and his wife, Kelsee, issued a media statements Wednesday:

"The Woodcocks and the Ryans are confirming that the human remains found by law enforcement on Chad Daybell's property are indeed our beloved JJ and Tylee. We are filled with unfathomable sadness that these two bright stars were stolen from us and only hope that they died without pain or suffering."

READ: Lori Vallow Daybell's Husband Charged With Hiding Kids' Remains