The mother of a 5-year-old non-verbal child found deceased in a South Carolina waterway has been charged in connection with her daughter's disappearance and death. Geordyn Hayes, 31, and her husband, John Hayes, 70, face charges of unlawfully placing a child at risk and willfully abandoning a child.
According to charging documents, the couple is accused of creating an unreasonable risk of harm by failing to provide adequate supervision and safeguards for Saylor Hayes, a severely non-verbal, autistic child with a known affinity for water and a history of elopement. Saylor was reported missing Sunday afternoon from a rental home in Pawleys Island, South Carolina.
In a video obtained by Gab News, Geordyn Hayes can be seen speaking with volunteers assisting in the search. She expressed concern, stating she was "praying" her daughter had simply fallen asleep somewhere. Hayes mentioned that Saylor often seeks out food and the refrigerator and noted that they had checked surveillance cameras but could not track her daughter's movements.
On Sunday around 11 a.m., John Hayes contacted dispatchers to report his daughter missing. In the 911 audio, he described Saylor as a "4-year-old or 5-year-old girl who’s very autistic." He stated that she had “took off” in a “split second” after he briefly left her unattended in a car to get juice. He later told dispatchers he needed to check the water near the rental property.
Saylor was reportedly supposed to be wearing a Project Lifesaver transmitter due to her tendency to wander. However, the device was not on her when her body was recovered. Authorities traced the signal from the device to a vehicle located in Virginia, more than 300 miles away from where the family was vacationing. Law enforcement stated that the device had been removed prior to the family leaving Virginia and that its removal would have required significant force.
Hundreds of people and multiple agencies participated in the extensive search effort. Saylor's body was found around 9:45 a.m. Monday in the water behind the Hayes' rental home. An autopsy is scheduled for September 4 to determine the official cause of death.