Authorities find mom in Hawaii without two missing Idaho children

Jan. 28 (UPI) -- Authorities found the mother of two missing Idaho children and her new husband in Hawaii without the children over the weekend and served the mother a court order to physically produce the children.

The brother and sister, Joshua Vallow, 7, and Tylee Ryan, 17, were last seen on Sept. 23 in Rexburg, Idaho.

The Rexburg Police Department in Idaho said in a Facebook post Monday that the court order requires the mom, Lori Vallow, to physically produce the children to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare within five days.

"Failure to comply with this order may subject Lori Vallow to civil or criminal contempt of court," the post said.

The post confirmed that the Kauai Police Department served the mother the order on Saturday and her new husband, Chad Daybell, was with her.

It further said that the children were not with the couple and "there is no evidence" they "were ever in Hawaii."

It also confirmed that on Sunday the Kauai Police Department served a search warrant on the couple and their vehicle.

Though child protection actions are normally sealed, the Madison County Prosecutor's Office asked the court for permission to disclose the order "to alert the public and anyone with knowledge of the location or health and safety of the children," the post said, though other documents related to the case remain under seal.

The couple had not reported the children missing to any law enforcement agency, Rexburge Police Department said in a statement.

Police are also investigating the deaths of former spouses of Vallow and Daybell.

Idaho authorities previously said that the mother and her new husband have not cooperated with the investigation, have left the state, and the disappearance may be tied to a suspicious death investigation.

Daybell's former wife, Tammy Daybell, 49, died in October in her Fremont County home. Authorities initially believed she died of natural causes, but have since been re-examining the case as suspicious. Freemont County Sheriff's Office investigators were made aware during the death investigation that the surviving husband had married Vallow and her children were missing.

"We are aware that in the weeks after Tammy Daybell's death, Lori Vallow-Daybell and Chad Daybell told witnesses that Lori's daughter had died a year before the death of her father, which is untrue," Rexburg police said. "Around that same time, Chad told another witness that Lori has no minor children."

Vallow's two previous husbands have died since 2018.

The Daybells have not been charged in the case. Investigators have said the priority is to find the children.

Authorities attempted a welfare check on the 7-year-old adopted special needs son, Joshua, also known as J.J., at Vallow's residence in November after extended family members became concerned. The Daybells indicated at the time that Joshua was staying with a family friend in Arizona, but investigators learned that was not the case.

Local police asked the FBI to get involved after they realized the couple had left Rexburg and vacated their residence.

Earlier this month, J.J.'s biological grandparents announced a $20,000 reward for information leading to the children's whereabouts.