No Show: Deadline for Lori Vallow to present missing children to Idaho authorities passed
PHOENIX - It was a no-show on Thursday, as Lori Vallow, the mother of two missing kids with ties to Arizona, failed to meet a court-mandated deadline to show her children are safe to authorities in Idaho.
Her children, Joshua "JJ" Vallow and Tylee Ryan, have not been seen for months. A child protection action was been filed on behalf of JJ and Tylee, and an Idaho court then ordered Lori to physically produce the two children to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare in Rexburg, within five days of being served with the order.
Joshua Vallow, 7, and Tylee Ryan, 17, are being sought by police in Rexberg, Idaho. (Photo credit: Rexberg Police Department)
The order was served to Lori, who was found with Chad Daybell in Hawaii, on January 25 by officials with the Kauai Police Department. Vallow reportedly once lived in Kauai with her late husband Charles Vallow and the two kids.
Sources say there had been no signs indicating Lori would make the trip to Rexburg, and it is known that Lori and Chad have been staying in Kauai since around mid-December, in a gated community called Villas on the Prince in Princeville.
Kauai Police officials say while Rexburg Police is still the lead agency, they are assisting them with the investigation.
An area resident says he saw a man and woman inside, and they appear to be Chad and Lori. This could be the last valid sighting of the couple.
The Rexburg Police Department asked for the public’s help in locating Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow wanted for questioning in connection with the disappearance of Vallow’s children. (Photo credit: Rexberg Police Department)
Since Lori did not comply with the court order within the specified deadline, she can, under the court order, be subjected to civil or criminal contempt.
A certified specialist in family law spoke with FOX 10's Justin Lum about the next possible move in the case.
"At this point, we can only guess what they are going to do," said Douglas Gardner. "She's not been charged with anything. Her being a person of interest, and she's moving up to being a very interesting person of interest, so at some point, they are gonna have to start doing something to try and bring her back to Idaho and that would be interstate extradition, and they'd follow the process for that."
Meanwhile, JJ's grandparents say they've held onto hope, but they also knew they had to be realistic about whether Lori showed up. They are trying to stay strong through this bizarre saga.
JJ and Tylee's disappearances have uncovered a complicated sequence of events related to Vallow and Chad Daybell, including details surrounding the death of Vallow's former husband, Charles Vallow, details surrounding the death and subsequent burial of Daybell's former wife, Tammy, and allegations of cult membership.
As for Kauai Police, officials say they will have no further updates in relation to the disappearances at this time, but did say they will provide updates ifand when they take any further action, as per the direction of Rexburg Police.
Click here for an interactive timeline of events surrounding the case