Investigators reportedly found what they believe are human remains on Chad Daybell’s property in Idaho, adding to the heartbreak in the case of his missing step-children. Police arrested Daybell on Tuesday, initially saying that he was just being taken in for questioning according to a report by CBS News. Now, the Rexburg Police Department says it is working to identify the remains found near his home.
Daybell’s case has made headlines over the last few months as he and his wife, Lori Vallow, have avoided questions about their missing children. The two had an idyllic wedding in Hawaii, then continued to live on the island freely for weeks even as authorities searched for Lori’s kids, 7-year-old JJ Vallow and 17-year-old Tylee Ryan. Lori Vallow was finally arrested in February, and now Daybell has been detained as well. According to the Freemont County Sheriff’s Office, he has not been formally charged yet, but he is being held on suspicion of concealing or destroying evidence.
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This is the second time investigators have searched Daybell’s home in Rexburg, Idaho, during the last few months. The FBI joined the Freemont County Sheriff’s Office in the latest search, the warrant for which is sealed. On Tuesday, Rexburg Assistant Police Chief Gary Hagan said he could not even reveal whether the search was related to the disappearance of JJ and Tylee.
Police believe that both Daybell and Vallow have lied to authorities about their children’s whereabouts throughout the process. However, both are also facing suspicion for other strange deaths and disappearances. Shortly before they were married, Daybell’s wife of many years, Tammy Daybell, died mysteriously in her sleep. The official report claimed that she died of “natural causes,” but police became suspicious when Daybell married Vallow just two weeks later.
Meanwhile, suspicious circumstances surrounding Vallow go back even further to the summer of 2019. At the time, Vallow’s brother, Alex Cox, shot Lori’s ex-husband, Charles Vallow, to death in Phoenix, Arizona. Lori Vallow and her two children then moved to Idaho abruptly, apparently due to her fanatical love of Daybell’s apocalyptic writings.
Tylee Ryan was last seen entering Yellowstone National Park with Vallow and other family members for a day trip in September. Her younger brother was reportedly last seen a few days later at school. Neither Vallow nor Daybell were concerned when the kids went missing, nor were they cooperative with authorities. Daybell is due in court on Wednesday, while Vallow is awaiting currently awaiting trial.
