The couple was arrested in Tennessee one day after their daughter’s body was found
Credit: Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office
NEED TO KNOW
- Saylor Hayes’ parents, John Herb Hayes III and Geordyn Nichole Hayes, were arrested and charged after their 5-year-old daughter was found dead in South Carolina
- The arrest affidavits allege Saylor had a monitoring device that was removed before the family left Virginia and that she was left unsupervised near a body of water
- Saylor’s body was found Monday, Aug. 31, after hundreds of people and multiple agencies joined the search, authorities said
The parents of Saylor Hayes have been arrested and charged after the body of their 5-year-old daughter was found in South Carolina following an extensive search, authorities said.
John Herb Hayes III and Geordyn Nichole Hayes were arrested Tuesday evening in Carter County, Tennessee, and each charged with unlawfully placing a child at risk/willfully abandoning a child in connection with Saylor’s disappearance and death, the Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office said in a social media post.
The charges come one day after Saylor’s body was found in the waters near Hagley Landing. The search for the girl involved hundreds of people and multiple agencies, according to the sheriff’s office.
Once extradition proceedings are complete, the couple will be transported back to Georgetown County in South Carolina, authorities said.
Saylor was reported missing Sunday, Aug. 30, after she wandered away from a rental home in Hagley Estates in Pawleys Island. She had severe nonverbal autism, and had a known affinity for water and elopement, according to the arrest affidavits.
Saylor had been equipped with a monitoring device since 2024, but the device was removed before the family left Virginia, according to the affidavits. Investigators allege in the documents that Saylor was left unsupervised within approximately 15 meters of a body of water.
As authorities searched for Saylor, the Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office said investigators were using Project Lifesaver equipment in an effort to pick up a signal from her transponder. Searchers also canvassed the neighborhood, used a drone and had divers checking nearby docks.
The affidavits also allege that the parents encouraged search efforts to use the tracking technology after Saylor went missing, despite knowing that she was not wearing the device.
On Monday, Aug. 31, agents with the Department of Natural Resources found Saylor’s body in the “waters near the area where she was last seen,” authorities said.
“Hundreds of residents from the area searched their own properties and surrounding areas and guarded local docks,” the sheriff’s office said. The agency also thanked those who assisted in the search and offered its “deepest condolences to the young girl’s family.”
Following the discovery of Saylor’s body, authorities continued investigating the circumstances surrounding her disappearance.
In a statement Tuesday, Sheriff Carter Weaver said investigators had followed the evidence throughout the case.
“From the beginning, our responsibility has been to follow the evidence wherever it led,” Weaver said. “Following an extensive investigation, Saylor’s parents have been arrested and charged under South Carolina law relating to unlawfully placing a child at risk of or causing harm, or willfully abandoning a child.”
Weaver said the charges were based on evidence developed during the investigation and emphasized that they do not establish guilt.
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“Parents and caregivers have a fundamental responsibility to protect children who cannot protect themselves,” Weaver said. “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.”
He described Saylor as a “vulnerable five-year-old child” who relied on the adults responsible for her care.
“She deserved to be safe. She deserved to be protected,” Weaver said.
The sheriff acknowledged that Saylor’s death has deeply affected the community and those involved in the search.
“Nothing we do can bring Saylor back. What we can do is pursue the truth, seek accountability through our justice system, and continue doing everything within our authority to protect the most vulnerable members of our community,” Weaver said.
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