Report: Mom of missing Idaho kids leaves Kauai with new husband

BOISE, Idaho (KBOI) - Lori Vallow, the mother of two missing Idaho children, and her new husband Chad Daybell have left their tropical island of Kauai in Hawaii, multiple media reports suggest.

But the couple seems to be staying in Hawaii.

Nate Eaton of the East Idaho News reported late Sunday that the Daybells left Kauai for Maui.

"I don't know if they had one-way tickets or plan to return," Eaton wrote. "And what happens next is anyone's guess."

Lori's children, Tylee Ryan, 17, and her 7-year-old brother, Joshua "JJ" Vallow, have been missing since September and Lori Vallow failed to meet a court-ordered deadline to bring the kids to authorities in Idaho last month.

Police have said Vallow and Chad Daybell have lied about the children's whereabouts and even their very existence, with Chad Daybell allegedly telling one person that Lori Vallow had no kids, and Lori Vallow allegedly telling another person that her daughter had died more than a year earlier.

The tangled case spans multiple states and includes investigations into three separate deaths: Lori Vallow's estranged husband, Charles Vallow, was shot and killed in Phoenix in July by Lori's brother, Alex Cox. Cox, who claimed the shooting was in self-defense, died of unknown causes in December.

In August, Lori Vallow moved her family to Idaho. In October, Chad Daybell's wife Tammy Daybell died of what her obituary said was natural causes. But when Chad Daybell married Lori Vallow just two weeks after Tammy's death, law enforcement became suspicious and ultimately had Tammy Daybell's remains exhumed.

The test results on Tammy Daybell's remains and on Alex Cox have not yet been released.

The case also involves rumors of a cult — Lori Vallow reportedly believes she is “a god assigned to carry out the work of the 144,000 at Christ's second coming in July 2020,” according to divorce documents Charles Vallow filed before his death. Chad Daybell has written several apocalyptic novels based loosely on Mormon religious theology. Both were involved in a group that promotes preparedness for the biblical end-times.

Police questioned Daybell and Vallow about the missing kids in late November, and the couple left town before police returned the next day. On Saturday, they were stopped by investigators in Hawaii, served with the order to produce the kids, and then searched.

The children's grandparents, Kay and Larry Woodcock, have offered a $20,000 reward for information leading to the children's discovery.

“I can't say for sure what's going to happen next other than to say I hope it's something that will get her attention, because I would love to know where those kids are,” Kay Woodcock said. “I think all America wants to know where they are.”