PAWLEYS ISLAND, SC. (THECOUNT) — John Herb Hayes III, 70, and Geordyn Nichole Hayes, 30, the parents of 5-year-old Saylor Hayes, have been arrested and charged after their daughter disappeared from a vacation rental and was later found dead in a South Carolina waterway, authorities announced Tuesday.
Hayes and Hayes were arrested Tuesday evening in Carter County, Tennessee, and each faces charges of unlawfully placing a child at risk and willfully abandoning a child, according to the Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office. They are awaiting extradition to Georgetown County, South Carolina.
|
Advertisement |
Saylor was reported missing Sunday after authorities said she wandered away from the family’s rental home in the Hagley Estates area of Pawleys Island. Her body was discovered Monday in the Waccamaw River near Hagley Landing following an extensive multi-agency search.
Newly released arrest warrants provide additional details about the circumstances investigators are examining. According to the warrants, Saylor was enrolled in Project Lifesaver, a tracking program intended to help locate vulnerable individuals with a history of wandering or elopement.
Investigators allege Saylor was not wearing her Project Lifesaver transmitter when she disappeared, despite her parents knowing the device was not on her. The warrants further allege that the parents advised authorities to use the tracking technology during the search.
The transmitter was subsequently found inside a vehicle at the family’s home in Virginia, according to the warrants.
The warrants also allege Saylor was left unsupervised approximately 15 meters from a body of water and that her parents discouraged search efforts toward the nearby waterway. Investigators described Saylor as a vulnerable child with a known affinity for water and a history of elopement.
The search involved law enforcement agencies, first responders and members of the public. The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources was among the agencies involved in the water search that led to the discovery of Saylor’s body.
The circumstances surrounding Saylor’s death remain under investigation. An autopsy is being conducted to determine her cause and manner of death.
Georgetown County Sheriff Carter Weaver said the arrests followed an extensive investigation and were based on evidence developed by investigators.
“Saylor was a vulnerable five-year-old child who depended upon the adults responsible for her care and protection,” Weaver said. “She deserved to be safe. She deserved to be protected.”
Weaver emphasized that the charges do not establish guilt and that both defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.
The circumstances surrounding Saylor’s death remain under investigation. An autopsy is being conducted to determine her cause and manner of death.
Pawleys Island is a coastal community in Georgetown County along South Carolina’s Grand Strand, approximately 70 miles northeast of Charleston and about 25 miles south of Myrtle Beach. The area includes residential communities, vacation rentals and waterways connected to the Waccamaw River system.
DEVELOPING::