Mom of 2 missing Idaho kids wants $5 million bail reduced

A mother arrested in Hawaii over the disappearance of her two Idaho children wants a judge to reconsider her $5 million bail.

A court hearing for her request is scheduled Wednesday on Kauai, where Lori Vallow was arrested last week on an Idaho warrant. She has been charged with two felony counts of child abandonment.

Seven-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow and 17-year-old Tylee Ryan have not been seen since September. Their disappearance captured worldwide attention after authorities pleaded for help in finding them late last year. Police in the city of Rexburg, Idaho, have said they “strongly believe that Joshua and Tylee’s lives are in danger.”

Bail for the equivalent felonies in Hawaii usually range from $2,000 to $20,000, Vallow’s attorney, Craig De Costa said in a court motion seeking a reduction in bail. She isn’t a flight risk and had offered to turn herself in to authorities before her arrest on Thursday, the motion said.

Daniel Dempey, a lawyer who represented Vallow at Friday’s hearing, asked for bail to be lowered to $10,000.

The judge has discretion to set bail, Kauai prosecutor said in a court filing opposing Vallow’s request.

Vallow is a flight risk, prosecutors said. “Given the extensive media attention, she is clearly aware that the authorities have prioritized her case,” prosecutors said. “She also has the means to move across an ocean.”

Prosecutors noted that Vallow’s husband, Chad Daybell, had $152,000 in a First Hawaiian Bank account.

Police also have said Vallow and Daybell have lied about the children’s whereabouts.

She faces an identification hearing on March 2 for her extradition to Idaho.