If they got a phone call from AZ that there was an attempted murder so they should go hide evidence in storage that makes the butt pat even creepier.
My recollection is the storage people called Rexburg PD because they saw the news about Lori, not that LE found out about the storage place on their own. You are probably right, I'll go back and read some older threads.
The LE search of the storage unit was the same day as the search of the 3 townhouse apartments (Nov 27th, the day after the welfare check on JJ). This case was not in the news until Dec 20th when Rexburg PD issued the 1st press release. I suppose in a town as small as Rexburg it is possible that the storage owner heard about the search of 3 apts on the same day it happened (even though it wasn't in the news anywhere) and called to volunteer info to LE about Lori having a storage unit. However, I think most neighbors who saw the raid didn't know exactly what it was about. One neighbor was asked questions about Lori the week before the welfare check/search warrants. Here's some of the timeline for a refresher:
24 Nov 2019, 2:16-2:20 pm – Lori and a man (believed to be Chad) are seen on CCTV in a car visiting Lori’s Rexburg storage unit for about 4 minutes; they remove items and also place items into the unit. This is the last visit to the storage unit by Lori and/or any of the men associated with Lori (East Idaho News, Dateline).
25 Nov 2019 – Rexburg PD is contacted by Gilbert PD after JJ’s grandparents, KW & LW, requested a welfare check (Affidavit of Probable Cause Doc; East Idaho News)
26 Nov 2019 - Rexburg PD attempt to conduct a welfare check on JJ, the adopted 7- year-old special needs son of Lori Vallow, at their residence at 565 Pioneer Road in Rexburg, ID (Dateline; Rexburg Press Release From Dec 20, 2019).
26 Nov 2019 - RPD first talk to Alex and Chad outside Lori’s apt. “Chad acted as if he didn’t know Lori very well and stated he didn’t know her phone number,” the probable cause doc states. “Alex told the detectives that [JJ] was with his grandma, KW, in Louisiana, which was not likely to be true due to the fact that KW was the individual who first called in a missing child report to the Gilbert PD.” Alex tells RPD Lori might be in Apt 107, but when RPD checks Apt 107 they find the unit is empty and vacant (Affidavit of Probable Cause Doc; East Idaho News).
26 Nov 2019 – After talking to RPD Chad tries to drive away but a detective stops him. Chad then says the last time he had seen JJ was in Apt 107 in October. He also admits that he knows Lori’s phone number and provides it (Affidavit of Probable Cause Doc; East Idaho News).
26 Nov 2019 - RPD finds Lori in her apt; She tells them JJ is with her friend Melanie Gibb (MG) in Gilbert, AZ. LE calls MG but cannot reach her on the phone. LE talk to Lori again, and she says MG and JJ are at “Frozen 2.” LE tells Lori to tell MG to call them. An affidavit filed Feb 18, 2020 says this statement Lori made about JJ being with MG “delayed the investigation into the whereabouts and safety of JJ by requiring us to take time to investigate a lead that was verified as false.” (Affidavit of Probable Cause Doc; East Idaho News)
26 Nov 2019 – After RPD leave, Lori and Chad each contact their friend MG separately; Both Lori and Chad ask MG to tell police that she has JJ even though JJ is not with her. MG says she declined the requests of Chad and Lori and she did not lie to the police on their behalf (Affidavit of Probable Cause Doc; East Idaho News)
26 Nov 2019, about 9:30 pm - Rexburg PD have not heard from MG so they call Gilbert PD. LE in Arizona go to MG’s home but she is not there. GPD reaches MG by phone; She tells them JJ has not been there for several months. (Affidavit of Probable Cause Doc; East Idaho News)
26 Nov 2019 –
2 nights before Thanksgiving Lori’s neighbor, SB, says he saw Lori and her brother Alex packing up a truck. SB thought they were traveling for the holiday. Lori left behind her belongings, and left JJ's toys on the front porch. (Fox 13 Salt Lake City).
27 Nov 2019 – 2 detectives visit Lori’s son Colby at his home in AZ to ask him if he has JJ and Tylee living with him or if he knows where they are located. This was the first time that CR was made aware that Lori had moved with the kids to Idaho. CR calls his mom to ask her what is going on and Lori says “I got it, I’ll take care of it,” and that was it. That was the last time CR talked to his mom (CR interview w/Justin Lum, Fox10 Phoenix).
27 Nov 2019 – Rexburg PD receives request to help AZ LE execute search warrants at 595 Pioneer Road in relation to the investigation into JJ’s welfare and location. Rexburg PD were authorized to collect blood, fingerprints, hair and hygiene products to collect DNA; personal items such as toys, clothing and shoes; electronic devices; school records and documents related to state assistance received on behalf of JJ as well as bank records “which may be evidence of payments received on behalf of the child as well as payments or expenses made for the child.” (East Idaho News)
27 Nov 2019; 10:13 a.m - A phone related to their investigation is pinged at the general location "right now" when dispatched. However, when LE arrive Lori and Chad have abruptly vacated the home and left town; LE has reason to believe that they did not have JJ with them when they left Rexburg. Subsequently, the local LE contacts the FBI to ask for assistance in locating JJ:
Rexburg Police Department
27 Nov 2019 – Neighbors watch as the FBI raids 3 units at 565 Pioneer Rd in Rexburg: Lori's Apt #175, Lori’s niece Melani’s Apt #174 and Lori’s brother Alex's Apt #107 in the same complex. LE breaks the front door of AC’s apt to get inside and finds there is nothing inside except for a couple of small items in the garage. Note: A neighbor stated #174 belonged to Lori’s sister, but the affidavit reveals it was Melani’s unit (Fox 13 Salt Lake City, local News 8; Affidavit of Probable Cause Doc; East Idaho News).
27 Nov 2019 - During the search of Lori’s apt, police note that most of the clothing has been removed but some furniture remains. Police find a prescription med called Risperidone prescribed to JJ to treat irritability caused by autism; It was filled in Jan 2019 and still had 17 pills in the bottle. Police verified that the prescription has not been filled in ID (Affidavit of Probable Cause Doc; East Idaho News).
27 Nov 2019, 1:58-2:00 pm, Rexburg PD contacts the owner of Self Storage Plus in Rexburg (Dateline).
27 Nov 2019, 5:08-5:21 pm – Police serve a search warrant for Lori’s Rexburg Storage unit for “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 unit there were bikes, a scooter, winter clothing, blankets w/photos of the kids, a photo album, sports equipment, a backpack with JJ’s initials and a jersey w/CR’s name (East Idaho News)
27 Nov 2019 -- During the investigation into JJ’s disappearance, LE learns that Lori’s teen daughter Tylee Ryan moved with Lori to Rexburg on Sept 1 or 2 but Tylee has not been seen since early Sept. Lori said Tylee was attending classes at BYU-Idaho, but records show she was never enrolled at any BYU campus (Affidavit of Probable Cause Doc; East Idaho News).
28 Nov 2019 – Thanksgiving Day.
Approx 28 Nov - Dec 1, 2019 – Chad spends Thanksgiving weekend on vacation with his family in Southern California, traveling there via SLC airport. Photos posted to social media show Chad at the airport and later Knott’s Berry Farm, an amusement park in Buena Park, CA
. Lori wasn't in any of the photos and her location during this time is unconfirmed. The CA trip was concluded Dec 1 and photos were posted on social media Dec 2 (WS Verified Insider posts).
29 Nov 2019, 8:01 pm – Lori’s Brother, Alex Cox, marries her friend Zulema Pastenes (ZP) in Clark County, NV. They marry in an 8 minute ceremony at “A Chapel of Love” in Las Vegas. No one attends the wedding; The witness on the wedding certificate is the chapel security guard. Also on the wedding certificate, Alex requests his name be changed from Alexander Lamar Cox to Alexander Lamar Pastenes; The owner/minister at the wedding chapel remembers the wedding because of that nontraditional request, which he says has never happened before; he also recalls, “They were very cold. It was business they just wanted to get in and get out.” The wedding took place about 2 weeks before AC’s death (Clark Co Marriage Records; Fox 10 Phoenix, Post Register).
30 Nov 2019, 5:23 pm – Lori’s niece, Melani, marries Ian Pawlowski (IP) at Lucky Little Chapel in Las Vegas, Clark County, NV. Melani’s Uncle Alex (Lori’s brother) was the witness for the ceremony (Clark Co Marriage Records; Fox10 Phoenix, Post Register).
1 Dec 2019 - Chad and Lori fly from Los Angeles to Kauai on American Airlines. Police do not believe they returned to the mainland after that time. The children are not with them and have not been seen by anyone in Hawaii. (Affidavit of Probable Cause Doc; East Idaho News, CNN).
