PRINCEVILLE — Lori Vallow, mother of two children missing from Idaho, has been arrested and is now awaiting an on-island hearing in the Kaua‘i Police Department cellblock on a $5 million bail.
The 46-year-old Idaho resident was arrested Thursday on a warrant issued by Madison County, Idaho. Her two children, 17-year-old Tylee Ryan and 7-year-old Joshua “J.J.” Vallow, have been missing since September.
Vallow has been staying on Kaua‘i with her new husband Chad Daybell, dodging a court order from Madison County, Idaho to produce her children before authorities. Vallow missed the deadline for that court order on Jan. 30. KPD has been helping the Rexburg Police Department in locating Vallow and Daybell since December 2019, about the time when the couple landed on Kaua‘i.
Daybell was not arrested Thursday.
Vallow has been charged with two felony counts of desertion and nonsupport of dependent children. She was also charged with resisting or obstructing
officers, criminal solicitation to commit a crime, and contempt of court for willful disobedience of court process or order.
Vallow is being held pending an extradition hearing that has not yet been scheduled. Kaua‘i Police Department Chief Todd Raybuck and Prosecuting Attorney Justin Kollar have a press conference scheduled for 2 p.m. today where more details are expected to be revealed.
If Vallow is extradited to Idaho, she will face criminal charges there.
The children were last seen in Idaho and there is no indication that they are on Kaua‘i, KPD officials said. There are currently no criminal charges against Vallow on Kaua‘i.
Thursday, Wainiha resident and TGI contributor Monique Rowan was in the Princeville neighborhood where Vallow was arrested, at the time of Vallow’s arrest.
“I received a news tip that the couple were seen walking outside their townhouse at Villas on the Prince, which is located near the entrance to Princeville,” Rowan said. “Lori and Chad Daybell had been seen speaking with detectives from Kaua‘i Police Department,” Rowan said.
Rowan said she knocked on the door of the unit where the couple was rumored to be staying, but there was no answer.
But a woman working on the property who declined to give her name said she witnessed Vallow being placed in a police vehicle and driven away by KPD officers.
She said she asked the couple about the children when they first arrived at the Villas, saying she was not only curious but concerned about the impact their stay would have on the complex.
A repairman, who also declined to give his name, was working a block or two away from where Vallow was arrested.
“It’s disgusting,” he said Thursday just after the arrest. “And it makes me nervous knowing they’re right there next door to my godparents in unit two.”
A nearby local business owner, Mallory Frey from Anahola, said she doesn’t know how Vallow has made it so long staying on Kaua‘i without being arrested.
“Everybody is wondering, where are the children? I was surprised that nobody on island didn’t take matters into their own hands,” Frey said, pointing out a long list of people she has talked to who want the couple brought to justice, especially Vallow.
Frey isn’t the only one who has been asking the question: “where are the children?” Poster board signs have been appearing all over the island asking that question.
Raybuck thanked the community on Thursday for their support and concern regarding the case.
“We also want to thank everyone for their patience while investigators worked diligently to comprehensively gather everything they needed in order to obtain this arrest warrant,” Raybuck said.
