The search for 5-year-old Saylor Hayes, an autistic girl who had been reported missing, concluded with the discovery of her body near Pawleys Island, South Carolina. Authorities subsequently arrested her parents, John Herb Hayes III, 70, and Geordyn Nichole Hayes, 31, in Tennessee on fugitive-from-justice charges.
The Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office stated that the couple is accused of endangering or abandoning their daughter under South Carolina law. Both were booked into the Carter County Jail. Extradition proceedings will return them to South Carolina to face the charges.
Arrest warrants describe Saylor as severely nonverbal and autistic, with a strong attraction to water and a history of wandering. The warrants allege that a monitoring device, which had been on Saylor since 2024, was removed before the family left Virginia. She was then allegedly left unsupervised near a body of water.
Following Saylor's disappearance, the warrants claim the Hayeses directed search efforts toward tracking technology, despite knowing she was not wearing the device. The couple also allegedly steered the search away from the nearby body of water.
Records from Virginia indicate that John Herb Hayes previously faced felony charges related to child abuse or injury stemming from a July 2023 incident. He entered Alford pleas in May 2024, and the cases were dismissed in February 2026. Geordyn Hayes also faced felony child abuse allegations filed in February 2026; one case was dropped, and another alleging child abuse and disregard for life was reduced to a misdemeanor charge of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
Separately, an affidavit from Washington County Sheriff’s Detective William W. Smarr detailed an incident on July 12, 2023, where social services removed two children, a 2-year-old girl and a 1-year-old boy, from the home of John Hayes and Geordyn Taylor in Bristol, Virginia. Drug tests revealed the girl had methadone in her system, and the boy tested positive for methamphetamine and methadone. Both parents also tested positive for these substances. The affidavit mentioned recent calls to the home regarding methamphetamine use and requests for police assistance. Smarr stated he would seek two counts of child abuse and neglect in that instance.
Georgetown County Sheriff Carter Weaver stated the arrests were based on evidence developed through an extensive investigation. He thanked those involved in the search for Saylor and the subsequent investigation. "Parents and caregivers have a fundamental responsibility to protect children who cannot protect themselves," Weaver said in a statement, adding that Saylor deserved to be safe and protected. Weaver emphasized that the arrests do not constitute a determination of guilt and that both defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The warrants do not specify the cause of Saylor's death, and it was not immediately clear if either parent has legal representation.