PAWLEYS ISLAND, SC. (THECOUNT) — Saylor Hayes, 5, was found dead Monday after the non-verbal child disappeared from a rental home in Hagley Estates on Pawleys Island, according to the Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office.
Saylor’s parents reported her missing to authorities at approximately 11:30 a.m. Sunday after she strayed from the family’s rental home, prompting a massive search involving hundreds of people over two days.
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Sheriff’s deputies, K9 units, police boats and divers participated in the search. Department of Natural Resources personnel were searching the Waccamaw River by boat Monday morning when they spotted Saylor’s body floating on the surface of the water near the area where her family had been staying.
The circumstances surrounding Saylor’s death remain under investigation. Authorities have not ruled out any person or any scenario as they work to determine how the child entered the river and what led to her death.
The Georgetown County Coroner’s Office is scheduled to perform an autopsy Friday. The examination is expected to help determine the cause and manner of death.
The investigation remains active, and authorities have not announced any arrests or identified a suspect in connection with Saylor’s death.
Pawleys Island is a coastal community in Georgetown County in northeastern South Carolina, approximately 25 miles south of Myrtle Beach and about 70 miles north of Charleston.
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