A 5-year-old autistic girl, Saylor Hayes, was reported missing Aug. 30 from a rental home in Pawleys Island, South Carolina, sparking a large-scale search that concluded with the discovery of her body nearby. Her parents, John Herb Hayes III, 70, and Geordyn Nichole Hayes, 31, were arrested in Tennessee the following day on fugitive-from-justice charges.
Investigators allege the parents endangered or abandoned their daughter under South Carolina law. The Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the arrests in Carter County, Tennessee. The couple is awaiting extradition to South Carolina.
The initial 911 call was made just before 11:40 a.m. on Aug. 30 by John Hayes. He informed the dispatcher that his daughter, described as autistic and nonverbal, had “just escaped” from their rental home on Old Waccamaw Drive. Hayes stated Saylor was wearing a bluish bathing suit and described her as white with brown hair and green eyes. He told the dispatcher, “This is bad. This is real bad.”
Hayes explained that the family had been preparing to go to the beach. He said he had put Saylor in a vehicle and buckled her in, but then went inside to get juice and other items. When he returned outside, she was gone. "We had her in the car, buckled in. And I went inside to get her juice and some more stuff. And to leave, I came back out. She’s gone," he said.
During the 911 call, Hayes indicated he needed to search the nearby water. "Yeah, I need to go look at the water. I’ve got to look around. I’ve got to find her," he stated.
Deputies arrived at the scene within minutes. Dispatch records indicated that Hayes was near water and that he was searching the house while on the phone. Information was also sought regarding a Project Lifesaver tracking device, which Saylor reportedly had. However, authorities needed a code from Washington County, Virginia, to access the device's data and frequency, prompting contact with Virginia authorities.
The search effort involved a South Carolina Department of Natural Resources dive team, drones, a marine unit, and a helicopter. Over 200 residents also assisted in searching nearby properties and guarding local docks.
Arrest warrants later alleged that John and Geordyn Hayes directed search efforts toward a tracking device they knew Saylor was not wearing and away from a nearby body of water. These warrants claim the device had been removed before the family left Virginia. The dispatch records do not clarify what the parents knew about the device or any instructions they may have given to searchers, but they do show law enforcement pursued both the tracking technology and the water during the initial response.
Department of Natural Resources agents found Saylor’s body around 9:45 a.m. on Aug. 31 in waters near where she was last seen. The cause or manner of her death has not been released.
Saylor wandered from the rental home in the Hagley Estates community. The sheriff’s office stated that the body was taken to the morgue. The warrants do not state Saylor’s cause or manner of death.