Parents arrested after body of missing nonverbal 5-year-old found near South Carolina beach

The parents of a missing nonverbal 5-year-old girl have been arrested after her body was found near a South Carolina beach, authorities said.

Saylor Hayes wandered off from her family’s Pawleys Island rental home, about 30 miles from Myrtle Beach, Sunday prompting an “intense search involving hundreds of people and multiple agencies,” the Georgetown Sheriff’s Department said.

Her body was found around 9:45 a.m. the next morning in waters near the area she was last seen.

John Herb Hayes III, 70, and Geordyn Nichole Hayes, 31, were arrested in Carter County, Tennessee, Tuesday, and charged with unlawfully placing a child at risk/ willfully abandoning a child.

In a statement, Georgetown County Sheriff Carter Weaver called the death a “heartbreaking tragedy.”

“Parents and caregivers have a fundamental responsibility to protect children who cannot protect themselves. When the evidence establishes probable cause to believe that a child has been unlawfully placed in circumstances that endanger that child’s safety, law enforcement has a responsibility to act,” Weaver said.

“Saylor was a vulnerable five-year-old child who depended upon the adults responsible for her care and protection. She deserved to be safe. She deserved to be protected.”

The five year-old had been part of the Project Lifesaver program, which is meant to track people with cognitive conditions who are prone to wandering off with a monitoring device.

Authorities searched on land, by boat, drone and helicopter for the girl — all while trying to pick up a signal from the tracking device they thought she was wearing. A CodeRed, or reverse 911, was also sent to neighbors asking for help locating the missing girl.

However, the tracking device had been removed before the family’s vacation, according to the arrest affidavit.

Her parents still encouraged the search team to use the tracking device knowing that she did not have it, authorities claim, and directed search efforts away from the nearby body of water.

Washington County Virginia Sheriff's Office, who joined in the search, issued a statement about the importance of its lifesaver program.

“Saylor, who was from the Bristol area of Washington County, had been enrolled in the Washington County Sheriff’s Office Project Lifesaver program since June of 2024,” a spokesperson said on Facebook.

“It is important to understand that Project Lifesaver is a voluntary program. A parent, guardian, or caregiver is responsible for ensuring the transmitter remains properly secured to the client.

“The transmitter is attached using a specialized band designed for continuous wear. It cannot simply be unclasped or removed by the client; the band must be physically cut in order to remove the transmitter.”

According to the arrest affidavit, Saylor’s parents failed to provide the supervision and safeguards necessary for the “severely nonverbal” 5-year-old, who had autism and a known affinity for the water.

The parents are set to be extradited to Georgetown County in South Carolina.