The mother of two children who have been missing for months has been arrested in Hawaii on a $5 million warrant from Idaho.
Lori Vallow has been charged on two counts of desertion and nonsupport of dependent children, according to a release from the Kaua’i Police Department on Thursday. Police say Vallow failed to comply with a court order to produce her children to authorities by Jan 30.
Police say there is no indication Vallow’s children were on the island of Kaua’i. Vallow’s husband, Chad Daybell, was not in custody, law enforcement sources told NBC News.
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The search for Tylee Ryan, 17, and Joshua Vallow, 7, began in November when police attempted to conduct a welfare check on Joshua, who is adopted and has special needs, according to the Rexburg Police Department.
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Joshua and Tylee were last seen in September, according to the Rexburg Police Department in Idaho.
Rexburg police previously said that Vallow and Daybell were not cooperating and had left the state.
According to Rexburg police, Vallow and Daybell said Joshua was staying with a family friend in Arizona, but investigators later learned that was a lie. A witness also told police that Vallow had falsely said that Tylee was dead.
Tylee’s aunt, Annie Cushing, told NBC affiliate KSL that she is concerned for the safety of the children, because she believes Vallow to be “unhinged.”
Rexburg police said they have learned that Vallow either knows the location of Joshua and Tylee or knows what happened to them.
Police have also said that they believe the children’s disappearance could be tied to an investigation into the death of Daybell’s first wife, Tammy Daybell, 49. She was found dead in her home in October, and Chad Daybell married Vallow weeks later.
Vallow is being held on a $5 million bail and does not yet have a court date. She will have the opportunity to waive or fight her extradition back to Idaho. A lawyer for Vallow did not immediately respond to a request for comment from NBC News.
This is a developing story, please check back for updates.
