Lori Daybell abandoned a storage unit in Rexburg full of children’s items
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REXBURG — When Lori Vallow Daybell suddenly departed from Rexburg at the end of November, she left behind a storage unit full of children’s items, photos, clothing and other things.
Her children, 7-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow and 17-year-old Tylee Ryan, have not been seen since September. Daybell has been in Hawaii with her new husband, Chad Daybell, for at least two months. Both have been named persons of interest in the children’s disappearance but have not been charged. Click here for a detailed look at the case.
Daybell first visited Self Storage Plus on Oct. 1 and signed a $53-per-month rental agreement for a 10×10 unit, according to a contract reviewed by EastIdahoNews.com. Surveillance cameras at the facility show Daybell and a man associated with her visited the unit nine times in October and once in November. Often the man, who appears to be Alex Cox, Daybell’s brother, came alone.
Security footage shows she only came to the business by herself once — on the day she signed the contract. Over the next two days, she returned with the man who appears to be Cox. His silver pickup truck is observed at Self Storage Plus on camera multiple times during October.
During one visit, a man and woman, who appear to be Daybell and Cox, enter the building containing the storage unit. The man looks both ways as the woman opens the door. He quickly walks in and carries out a heavy object. It’s placed in the vehicle outside and the man returns to carry out a tire while the woman closes the door.
Between Oct. 6 and Oct. 26, a man, presumably Cox, visits the storage unit alone five times. Cameras show him dropping off a variety of items, including gun cases, and then, on Oct. 28, two men are seen moving bikes into the unit.
Surveillance video shows visitors to the unit would often place things inside and then remove the same items within days.
The last time anyone visits the unit in October is on the 28th. Nobody comes back for nearly a month, but on Nov. 24, Daybell and a man are again seen on camera. They stay for four minutes and leave.
Two days later, on Nov. 26, Rexburg Police went to Daybell’s townhouse for a welfare check on JJ. The next day, officers served a search warrant at the home and then obtained a search warrant on the storage unit.
The warrant called for officers to seize “any evidence that the boy was residing at any of these residences, and/or evidence of foul play or the commission of a crime, and/or evidence of the child’s current location.”
Inside the storage unit, officers found bikes, a scooter, winter clothing, a photo album with pictures of JJ and Tylee, sports equipment, a backpack with JJ’s initials and a jersey with Colby Ryan’s (Lori Daybell’s oldest son) name on it. There were blankets showing photos of the children – one focused on JJ, and the other had pictures of Tylee.
Detectives photographed everything, and in January, when Daybell’s credit card was declined several times, Self Storage Plus notified the police. Workers say officers have not returned since the end of November.
Due to lack of payment, the storage unit and all its contents are considered abandoned. The items are being held at the business pending the outcome of a police investigation, but will ultimately be returned to extended family members.
Self Storage Plus employees have reached out to Daybell multiple times but have been unable to reach her, and she has not returned messages. Managers say they are releasing video to EastIdahoNews.com from their security company, Elite Surveillance, in hopes that it will help police with their timeline in events and ultimately lead to the recovery of JJ and Tylee.
