Racine Sun

Bohners Lake issued the following announcement on June 12.

The bodies of two children uncovered in rural Idaho are a boy and his big sister who have been missing since September, relatives said, and their mother and her husband are in custody in connection with the complex case that spans several states.

Authorities have not released the identities of the bodies discovered on the property of Chad Daybell, who married the children’s mother, Lori Vallow Daybell, a few weeks after the kids were last seen. But Joshua “JJ” Vallow’s grandfather Larry Woodcock on Wednesday told the Post Register in Idaho Falls that “both children are no longer with us.”

Relatives of JJ, who was 7 when he vanished, and 17-year-old Tylee Ryan sent a joint statement to Phoenix television station KSAZ-TV confirming the deaths and asking for privacy.

It’s another gruesome turn in a case that had dragged on for months without answers and grew ever stranger with its ties to the couple’s doomsday beliefs and the mysterious deaths of their former spouses.

But developments were rapid this week: Investigators searched Chad Daybell’s property for evidence, they found children’s bodies, and prosecutors charged him with destroying or concealing two sets of human remains. Then finally, relatives reported that the children they have been fighting to find for months were dead.

Daybell’s attorney, John Prior, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. A judge set bail at $1 million during a short court hearing Wednesday.

In court documents, Madison County Prosecutor Rob Wood said he believes Chad Daybell either concealed or helped hide the remains knowing that they were about to be used as evidence in court. Wood said the first body was hidden or destroyed sometime on or after Sept. 8 — the last known day that Tylee was seen — and the second on or after Sept. 22, the last known day that JJ was seen.

A document that details the reasons behind the charges was sealed after Wood said it could compromise the criminal investigation. The prosecutor also noted how much media attention the case has received and said keeping the document secret would help preserve Daybell’s right to a fair trial.

Lori Daybell already has been charged with child abandonment and obstructing the investigation and is in jail on $1 million bond. Her attorney has indicated she intends to defend herself against the charges, and she is scheduled for a preliminary hearing next month.

Police began searching for Tylee and JJ in November after relatives raised concerns. Police say the Daybells lied to investigators about the children’s whereabouts before quietly leaving Idaho. They were found in Hawaii months later.

Protesters topple Columbus statue on Minnesota Capitol grounds

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Protesters lassoed a statue of Christopher Columbus outside the Minnesota Capitol Wednesday afternoon and pulled it to the ground, saying it was a step toward healing for Native American communities.

Dozens of people gathered by the statue on the grounds outside the Capitol in St. Paul before pulling it down. Activist Mike Forcia, who said he’s with the Black River Anishinabe, talked to a member of the State Patrol who had been sent to the scene to encourage protesters to follow a legal process for removing the statue.

Forcia said they had tried that route many times, and it had not worked.

The protesters then looped a rope around the statue, grabbed ahold and quickly pulled it off the stone pedestal and to the ground. The State Patrol watched from a distance, and let protesters sing and take photos with the statue for about half an hour.

State officials said they had been warned about the action via social media. Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington said the State Patrol would be dispatched to meet the protesters and seek an alternative resolution.

Columbus, a 15th century Genoese explorer, has long been a target of Native American activists across the nation for his role in colonizing and exploiting indigenous people.

Before the statue came down Forcia and others said Walz and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan should address the crowd. But no elected officials came out to speak. After a discussion with a State Patrol officer, they moved to tear down the statue.

Forcia asked women to be at the front, citing them as leaders and calling attention to the large number of missing and slain indigenous women — an issue that lawmakers have taken up in recent years after a community push.

The Columbus statue has stood on the State Capitol grounds since 1931.

Original source here.