Lori Vallow Daybell and Chad Daybell
SALEM, Idaho — Chad Daybell, the stepfather of two missing Idaho children, has been arrested after a search turned up human remains at his home, according to the Fremont County (Idaho) Sheriff’s Department.
Authorities in Idaho say they found the human remains while executing a search warrant at Daybell’s Salem, Idaho home.
“Detectives and investigators have recovered what’s believed to be human remains that have not been identified at this time,” Assistant Rexburg Police Chief Gary Hagen told reporters at a brief news conference Tuesday.
Hagen did not speculate about whose remains they were, nor did he take any questions.
At a second news conference later in the day, Hagen confirmed Daybell had been arrested and booked into jail. Online court records show he is being held on suspicion of destruction or concealment of evidence. Daybell’s first court appearance will be Wednesday morning.
According to reports from East Idaho News, witnesses reported seeing officers pull Daybell him over about a mile from his home in Salem, Idaho, which is five miles outside of Rexburg, around 11:30 a.m. The witnesses told the news outlet that they saw Daybell placed in handcuffs and put into the back of a police car.
Rexburg Police, the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI carried out the search at the home of Chad Daybell on Tuesday. Daybell is the husband of Lori Vallow, who was arrested in connection to the case of her missing children.
Hagen said earlier that the search warrant was related to the disappearance of 17-year-old Tylee Ryan and her 8-year-old brother, J.J. Vallow. Lori Vallow is currently in custody in Idaho on felony charges of desertion and nonsupport of dependent children. She also faces misdemeanor counts of resisting and obstructing an officer, solicitation of a crime and contempt.
Hagen says the warrant is sealed and that details would “not [be] available to news media outlets or the public and is only for the purview of law enforcement working on this case.”
Chad Daybell’s first wife, Tammy, died in October at the couple’s Salem, Idaho home. Both he and Lori Vallow are being investigated in connection with that death.
East Idaho News reports that investigators appear to be focusing on the backyard of Daybell’s property, where officials have raised a number of canopy tents.
This is the second time a warrant has been served at the Daybell home in Idaho. During the first, in January, officials removed 43 items from the home.
J.J. Vallow and Tylee Ryan were last seen in September of 2019. Police began to investigate after suspicions arose in the death of Chad Daybell’s former wife.
In January, J.J. Vallow’s grandparents offered a $20,000 reward for any information relating to the whereabouts of both children.
After that, in March, the FBI asked anyone who may have visited Yellowstone National Park on September 8, 2019, to see if they had any photos of the children.
If you have any information about the missing children, please contact the Rexburg police at 208-359-3000 or report it to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children by calling 1 (800) 843-5678.
More information can also be found at www.findjjandtylee.com