Joshua Vallow, 7, and his sister, Tylee Ryan, 17, have not been seen since September 23 and police believe the siblings are in serious danger.
More details are emerging about one of the deaths surrounding the disappearance of missing Idaho siblings Joshua "JJ" Vallow, 7, and Tylee Ryan, 17.
Police body cam footage and a 911 call from the Chandler Police Department were released from the July 11, 2019, shooting that killed JJ's father, Charles Vallow, at the Arizona home where JJ and Tylee were living with their mother, Lori. Charles Vallow had come to pick up JJ.
Alex Cox, Lori's brother, told police he acted in self-defense when he shot Vallow, according to the footage. Cox also claimed Vallow came at him with a baseball bat after fighting with Lori and that Tylee had tried to defend her mother with a bat.
"He came at me with the bat again after he already hit me in the head, so I shot him to stop him," Cox can be heard telling a police officer in the body cam footage.
In the 911 call, a dispatcher walks Cox through how to perform CPR on Vallow, whom he tells the dispatcher is not breathing. Cox said he was staying at Lori's home while on vacation and that he had previously had a good relationship with his brother-in-law, who was in the process of separating from Lori.
Cox was not charged in the incident, and died himself on Dec. 12. Both Cox and Charles Vallows' deaths are now under investigation.
They're just two in a web of deaths surrounding the missing children that are troubling police.
Tammy Daybell, the wife of Lori's latest husband, Chad, died in her home on Oct. 19. Her death is also under investigation after authorities exhumed her body to perform an autopsy, the results of which are pending. Tylee's father and Lori's third husband, Joseph Ryan, died in 2018 from an apparent heart attack.
"There is a lot of concern for the safety of the kids," Fremont County Sheriff Len Humphries told EastIdahoNews.com. “The information that is coming out of Arizona in reference to deaths of multiple people is concerning."
The children's grandparents, Kay and Larry Woodcock, announced a $20,000 reward for information leading to the children's safe return. The couple have also launched a website, FindJJandTylee.com, to help collect leads. Lori's son, Colby Ryan, also posted videos to his YouTube channel pleading with his mother to tell police where JJ and Tylee are.
"You have the power to end this," Ryan said in the video, addressing his mother. "You have an opportunity to put this all to rest. I know that it's hard maybe for you, maybe it's something you don't want to do. I really, really want to see Tylee and JJ. I really want this to be over."
"I'm your son. I would never want anything to happen to you, and I would never want anything to happen to Tylee and JJ ever, ever. I would do anything to protect them, and you know that. I just want them to be safe and want them to be okay," he added.
In another video, Colby Ryan described Tylee as "feisty, she's funny, she has very dry humor," adding that, "she's so strong and sweet and she's been growing into her own. She has really stepped up, she's so strong and I miss her, I miss being around her."
"I love JJ so much, he's such a character," Colby Ryan said of his 7-year-old brother. "We used to play games all the time, he and I would swim in the pool, and we would just talk."
Joshua last attended Kennedy Elementary School in Rexburg on Sept. 23, authorities said. He has brown hair and brown eyes, is 4 feet tall and weighs 50 pounds. He has autism and "may be in need of medical attention," according to authorities.
Tylee Ryan has blonde hair and blue eyes, is 5 feet tall and weighs 160 pounds. Neither Joshua nor Tylee had been reported missing to any law enforcement agency before police launched their search following a Nov. 26 welfare check on the home where they lived with their mother.
Lori and Chad Daybell have been named persons of interest in the children's disappearance, but no arrests have been made.
Chad is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He has published books about his faith and near-death experiences, as well as fictional stories set in an apocalyptic United States. His personal website says he also once served as a cemetery sexton.
In divorce papers, Charles Vallow claimed Lori had told him she was "a god assigned to carry out the work of the 144,000 at Christ's second coming in July 2020," The Arizona Republic reported. Lori had "become infatuated and, at times, obsessive about near-death experiences and spiritual visions," Charles Vallow said in court documents.
In a Facebook post, Kay Vallow Woodcock, JJ's grandmother, wrote Lori was a "wonderful, loving, attentive mother" until "things started changing over the past 18+ months when Lori began spending all her time with a new religious group, that we refer to as a 'cult.'"
Idaho police say the couple has not been helping investigators find JJ and Tylee, something that frustrates and puzzles the children's extended family.
"We have been contacted by [Chad Daybell's] attorney, and that was a couple of weeks ago," Humphries told EastIdahoNews.com. "His attorney was letting us know that any communications would be through him, and there wasn't any at the time."
An attorney for the couple, Sean Bartholick, issued a statement on behalf of the couple on Dec. 23.
“Chad Daybell was a loving husband and has the support of his children in this matter. Lori Daybell is a devoted mother and resents assertions to the contrary. We look forward to addressing the allegations once they have moved beyond speculation and rumor," Bartholick wrote in the statement. Bartholick also reportedly said that he does not have any information about the missing children.
Bartholick has not responded to InsideEdition.com's request for comment.
Colby Ryan expressed shock at what his family's life has become.
"I can't even fathom that this is happening to our family," Colby Ryan said in his video to his mother. "I grew up with you, I grew up with Tylee and JJ as my siblings, I grew up in a family, I grew up with stepbrothers and a stepdad. We had a life, and it seems like that life never really existed at this point."
The Rexburg Police Department asks anyone with information regarding the children's whereabouts or welfare to contact the department at 1-208-359-3000 or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) at 1-800-THE-LOST.
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