‘Feel the Fire’: Inside the shocking search that uncovered JJ and Tylee’s remains
Published at
IDAHO FALLS – At 7 a.m. on a summer morning in June, dozens of law enforcement officers from agencies across eastern Idaho and the FBI converged on Chad Daybell’s property in Fremont County.
It was June 9, 2020, and Tylee Ryan and JJ Vallow had been missing for almost nine months. Law enforcement were on Chad’s property to serve a warrant, intent on finding the kids, or at least some evidence that would point them in the right direction.
In “Feel the Fire,” the latest episode of “Deceived: The Daybell Story,” host Nate Eaton takes listeners inside the search-and-recovery mission conducted on Chad’s property, as told through the eyes of the law enforcement officers who were there.
PHOTO GALLERY: Aerial views as search warrant is executed on Chad Daybell’s property
Rexburg police Lt. Ray Hermosillo tells Eaton that as they searched, he watched Chad closely.
“He’s rubbing his hands through his hair,” the detective said. “(He) puts his hat back on, (and) he’s looking at the ground. And I’m thinking: Holy sh**! There’s something here!”
What the investigators found buried under a tree in Chad’s backyard that day was almost unbelievable: JJ, the 7-year-old boy they had been searching for for months. Some of his sister Tylee’s remains were also discovered in a nearby fire pit.
“As a cop, you’re trained to see these things, but mentally you’re not supposed to. So, you can train all you want, and try to be as callous as you want, but when you have a family and kids of your own, you can’t help but feel things. And then you have to bury that and keep working,” Hermosillo said.
By the end of the day, Chad would be arrested. Tylee and JJ’s family members would finally have some answers, but there were still so many questions.
In “Episode 4: Feel the Fire” law enforcement officers like Hermosillo share some of their most tender memories of that day and describe the rollercoaster of emotions they went through.
Listeners also hear from Summer Shiflet as she confronts her sister Lori in a phone call after finding out her niece and nephew had been killed and buried in Chad’s backyard.
“I don’t know what to think! None of us do! You haven’t told us anything!” Shiflet screams at Lori, who was incarcerated in the Madison County Jail.
She also walks Eaton through the heavy emotions felt while talking to her sister that day.
Episode 4 of “Deceived” is available now on your favorite podcasting platform. For more information, visit the KSL Podcasts website.
If you want a deeper dive into the case, check out EastIdahoNews.com’s Daybell Case story archive.
If you want to listen to “Deceived: The Daybell Story” ad-free and get next week’s episode early, join the Deceived Insider Club; members get these benefits plus exclusive bonus content.
Bonus Episode 2: In early 2020, while Lori Vallow Daybell was incarcerated at the Madison County Jail, she spoke frequently on the phone with her husband Chad Daybell. Their conversations were recorded and snippets later used in court. But in this bonus episode, you hear a whole conversation from start to finish between Chad and Lori Daybell.
