Tylee Ryan and her brother J.J. Vallow disappeared in December. Tylee’s aunt, Annie Cushing, said her 17-year-old niece has a strained relationship with her mom, Lori Vallow.
Annie recalled her brother Joe Ryan’s marriage to Lori Vallow as a joyful start for the couple
“They were just madly in love, I had never seen Joe that happy,” Annie said. “My brother had never been married, and he had never had a child, so he was over the moon.”
However, Annie said the relationship soured and the couple divorced when Tylee was 18 months old.
Annie said she felt close to Lori until Joe’s death in 2018 when she flew to Arizona to be with Tylee. “You know, she kind of felt, like, you know, like a sister,” Annie explained.
“There was also a lot of tension between Tylee and Lori.”
Annie said Lori discouraged Tylee from speaking about her dad. “There was also a lot of tension between Tylee and Lori,” Annie said. “She would actually say the world is a better place without Joe Ryan.”
Annie said she sent texts to her daughter during her visit. “I was just like, I can’t wait to get to out of here, this place is dark. Family called her ‘Lolo’ and I said, ‘I think Lolo might be a sociopath.’”
Annie recalled Lori’s obsession with end-of-times ideas. “There was this one time where she was talking about it and she says, ‘Sometimes I think it would just be better just to get, put my kids in a car and go off the side of a cliff.’”
KSL also uncovered court documents of Tylee’s custody in which a Texas court ordered Lori to have a psychological evaluation after Lori said that death would be an option before letting Tylee visit her dad.
Another concern for Annie, since Tylee was homeschooled, she doesn’t know the exact date of her disappearance. “We know when J.J. was last seen but nobody seems to know when Tylee was last seen.”
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