Police investigating the case of two missing Idaho children issued a poignant statement on the youngest child’s eighth birthday Monday, saying they are praying for him and his sister.
“We continue to hope and pray for the safe return of both of these beautiful children each and every day,” said Rexburg Police Department Assistant Chief Gary Hagen, referring to Tylee Ryan, 17, and Joshua “JJ” Vallow, who both disappeared eight months ago.
Hagen thanked the public Monday for its help in the case, pledging to “resolve” it, and adding: “We urge the public to continue to be vigilant for J.J. and Tylee.”
Previously
Their mother, Lori Vallow, vanished from Idaho in November as police were preparing to serve a warrant. She later resurfaced with her new husband in Hawaii, where she was arrested in February. There were no signs the children were ever with her.
Extradited back to Idaho in March, Vallow pleaded not guilty, but she has refused to cooperate with authorities as to the children’s whereabouts.
Vallow remains jailed after a judge recently refused to lower the $1 million bail she faces for multiple felony child neglect and abandonment charges.
The ongoing saga has many other twists, including several suspicious deaths and family accusations that Vallow and her husband Chad Daybell are members of a Doomsday cult.
Vigil held for boy
On Memorial Day, about two dozen people gathered at Joshua's elementary school to commemorate his birthday, according to East Idaho News, which has been closely following the case from the outset. The group lit candles, observed a moment of silence and sang "Happy Birthday." A statement from the children's grandparents was read.
‘She’s not a monster’
According to a report by The Daily Mail, Vallow's sister, Summer Shiflet, recently offered some insights into the case, saying she believes the children are safe.
“I don’t know all of her reasons for doing what she’s doing. But I know she has ... the reasons.”
Shiflet and her mother, Janis Cox, say Vallow “would never harm her children,” Shiflet said. “She’s not a monster, she’s not a heartless, cold-calculated murderous type of person.”
The women also suggest the missing children were “in a bunker somewhere.”
“I think that’s possible,” Cox said, but she did not elaborate on where she believed the children were.
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