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by WILL FOLKS
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Authorities in Georgetown County, South Carolina have arrested and charged the parents of Saylor Hayes – the missing 5-year-old autistic girl from Virginia whose body was found near a family vacation rental in Pawleys Island, S.C. this weekend.
According to a news release from the Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office (GCSO), John Herb Hayes III and Geordyn Nichole Hayes – both of Bristol, Virginia – were each arrested and charged on Tuesday (September 1, 2026) with unlawfully placing a child at risk/willfully abandoning a child in connection with their daughter’s disappearance.
The couple will be extradited from Carter County, Tennessee to Georgetown County to answer the charges, the statement noted. An initial determination regarding bond is expected to be made at that time.
Saylor disappeared on Sunday (August 30, 2026) from her family’s vacation rental on Old Waccamaw Drive in the Hagley community of Pawleys Island. Her disappearance sparked a massive search involving deputies, firefighters, K-9 teams, boats, drones, divers and volunteers. Horry County divers searched roughly 200 yards underwater near the rental property Sunday, while Midway Fire Department (MFD) personnel and the sheriff’s office’s marine patrol searched by boat.
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Geordyn Hayes spoke briefly with GAB News while the search was underway. She said the family discovered Saylor missing and later reviewed surveillance cameras – but did not see footage showing the child walking toward the water.
When asked for additional comment, Hayes declined, saying police had told her not to discuss the case while the investigation was ongoing.
On Monday Morning (August 31, 2026) agents with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) found Saylor’s body in the water near the area where she was last seen.
According to probable cause affidavits accompanying the warrants for their arrest, both parents placed their daughter at an unreasonable risk of harm by “failing to provide supervision and safeguards appropriate for a severely nonverbal, autistic five-year-old child with known affinity to water and history of elopement.”
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The affidavits noted Saylor Hayes had been “equipped with a monitoring device since 2024,” but this device had been “removed prior to (the family) leaving the state of Virginia” last month.
That’s a reference to the Project Lifesaver transmitter believed to have been on Saylor Hayes’ person at the time of her disappearance. When crews in Georgetown County were unable to detect the device’s frequency, authorities asked Washington County deputies to check Saylor’s residence back home in Virginia.
That search produced a troubling discovery.
“Upon responding, WCSO personnel detected Saylor’s assigned frequency and tracked the signal to her Project Lifesaver transmitter, which was located inside a vehicle on the property,” Washington County sheriff Blake Andis said. “The transmitter was not with Saylor when she went missing in South Carolina.”
The affidavits made it clear law enforcement believed both parents misled them during the search for their daughter’s body.
“After the child was discovered missing, (defendants) encouraged search efforts to be directed toward the use of tracking technology, despite knowing that the child was not wearing the monitoring device,” the affidavits noted. “The defendant further directed search efforts away from the nearby body of water.”
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“The death of Saylor Hayes is a heartbreaking tragedy that has deeply affected our community and everyone who worked so hard to find her,” Georgetown sheriff Carter Weaver said. “From the beginning, our responsibility has been to follow the evidence wherever it led. 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.”
According to Weaver, parents and caregivers have “a fundamental responsibility to protect children who cannot protect themselves.”
“Saylor was a vulnerable five-year-old child who depended upon the adults responsible for her care and protection,” Weaver continued. “She deserved to be safe. She deserved to be protected.”
“Nothing we do can bring Saylor back,” Weaver added. “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.”
Both parents have been charged under S.C. Code of Laws § 63-5-70, a felony offense punishable by a fine at the discretion of the court and a prison sentence of not more than ten (10) years.
As with anyone accused of committing any crime, both parents are considered innocent until proven guilty by our justice system.
Field correspondent Troy Styles contributed to this report.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
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