Judge refuses to lower $5M bail for mother of missing Idaho kids; extradition hearing set
Lori Vallow Daybell, the Idaho mother whose two children have been missing since September, appeared in court on the island of Kauai on Friday and refused to waive extradition, thereby exercising her right to a hearing.
That so-called identity hearing will take place March 2, at which time it will be confirmed that authorities arrested the person named in Idaho court warrants. A warrant from Gov. Brad Little must be issued to request her extradition, and that has not yet happened.
Vallow Daybell’s bail remained at $5 million after her defense attorney requested a drastic reduction to $10,000, EastIdahoNews.com reported. The prosecution on the Hawaiian island asked for Vallow Daybell to be remanded without bail.
Vallow Daybell, 46, was arrested Thursday and charged with two felony counts of desertion and nonsupport of children, and misdemeanor resisting and/or obstructing an officer, solicitation and contempt. She was arrested without incident, Kauai Police Chief Todd Raybuck said Friday at a press conference.
“I want to make it clear that we are not the primary agency responsible for this investigation. This investigation is being conducted by the Rexburg Police Department and Madison County Prosecutor’s Office,” Raybuck said, referencing the authorities in Idaho. “Our responsibility has only been to support those entities and to carry out what legal issues and requests they have for us on our end.”
Kauai County Prosecuting Attorney Justin Kollar said that at the March 2 hearing, the mechanics of her transport to Idaho would be discussed. He said the only thing she can contest is the legality of the arrest.
In a story Friday morning, EastIdahoNews.com cited the Madison County court documents that lay out the case against Vallow Daybell.
She and her new husband, Chad Daybell, have been in Hawaii for the past two months. They were married there in November, not long after Daybell’s wife died. Seven-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow and Tylee Ryan, 17, have not been seen since September, and authorities have said that Lori has repeatedly refused to provide information on their whereabouts.
Chad Daybell is not the children’s father and has not been charged in the case.
Rexburg Police contacted Kauai authorities in December for help locating the Daybells, Raybuck said during the press conference. Officials do not believe the children have ever been in Hawaii.
On Jan. 25, Kauai Police delivered to Vallow Daybell an Idaho court order to produce the children to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare by Jan. 30. She did not comply, and there is no new information on JJ and Tylee.
“We are all hopeful that we are able to locate the missing children, Tylee and JJ, and we appreciate the community support and the media’s interest in this story and trying to help all the investigators locate these missing children,” Raybuck said during the press conference.
This story was originally published February 21, 2020 at 6:55 PM.
