REXBURG, Idaho — A mystery involving dead spouses and two children gone without a trace.
It’s a disturbing with a lot of twists and turns -- and at the center of it all is Lori Vallow.
The 47-year-old mother was arrested last month in Hawaii, accused of deserting her two children, 7-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow and 17- year-old Tylee Ryan.
No one has seen the children since September.
The case spans multiple states, including Arizona, but a small town in Idaho might hold some answers as to what happened to the children.
Lori Vallow is being extradited back to Rexburg, Idaho from Hawaii to face a judge this week.
Investigators say she hasn’t given any information about where her children are or what happened to them and that she defied a court order to produce them at the end of January.
This is all after Chandler Police say Lori’s brother, Alex Cox, shot and killed Lori’s estranged husband Charles Vallow. That death is still under investigation.
Soon after Charles Vallow was killed, Lori married Chad Daybell, who was living in Rexburg.
His wife Tammy also died under suspicious circumstances, which are still under investigation, just a few weeks before they married.
“I haven’t seen him a lot since Tammy died,” says Rhea Price, who lives down the road from Daybell’s Rexburg home.
Price says he’s lived there for five years and she knew him as a good neighbor.
“They took care of their yard. Took care of their house.”
And she says his connection to this case comes as a shock.
“I’m confused because I would hope that he would cooperate with the investigation so that we didn’t have this turmoil,” she explained.
“We could have answers.”
Court records say Lori Vallow moved to Rexburg from Arizona in early September with JJ and Tylee.
Tylee was last seen going into Yellowstone National Park with her family and JJ was last seen Sept. 24 at his Idaho school.
Investigators say Lori initially lied to them about where her children were.
After they disappeared, surveillance footage at a storage facility in Rexburg shows people moving heavy bags out of a unit rented by Lori Vallow. A police search inside the unit revealed photos albums with pictures of JJ and a bike, scooter and other toys for a boy his age.
“I think we’re all just confused,” Price says. “We take care of kids. We’re a loving community.”
Investigators say Lori and Chad went to Hawaii in December, despite the missing children and active police investigation. They were spotted several times in Kauai without children and seemingly with no concern. The couple dodged questions from reporters about the whereabouts of the kids.
In January, Rexburg investigators ordered the Lori Vallow to produce her children. She was arrested in February after failing to comply with the court order.
After she’s extradited back to Idaho, she’ll be facing a judge on felony desertion charges, among other misdemeanors.
Daybell is not facing any charges but we’re told he’s back in Idaho.
Vallow’s first Idaho court hearing is scheduled for Friday afternoon.
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