Parents charged after girl found dead near beach; sheriff says she wasn’t wearing tracking device

GEORGETOWN COUNTY, S.C. (WMBF/Gray News) - The parents of Saylor Hayes, the 5-year-old nonverbal girl found dead near a popular South Carolina beach, have now been charged after investigators allege they misled deputies during the search for their daughter.

John Hayes III and Geordyn Hayes were arrested Tuesday night in Carter County, Tennessee, and charged with unlawfully placing a child at risk, or willfully abandoning a child, according to the Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office.

“Parents and caregivers have a fundamental responsibility to protect children who cannot protect themselves. When the evidence establishes probable cause to believe that a child has been unlawfully placed in circumstances that endanger that child’s safety, law enforcement has a responsibility to act,” Georgetown County Sheriff Carter Weaver said.

The couple will be brought back to Georgetown County from Tennessee once extradition proceedings are complete.

The family was visiting Pawleys Island from Washington County, Virginia, at the time.

Washington County Sheriff Blake Andis said Saylor had been enrolled in the agency’s Project Lifesaver program since June 2024.

Project Lifesaver helps authorities find people who are at risk of wandering because of cognitive conditions or other special needs. People in the program wear a small transmitter that emits a radio frequency, helping authorities track missing people.

The program played a major role in the Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office search in South Carolina. A helicopter equipped with the technology was even deployed to help locate her.

However, Weaver said Sunday night authorities couldn’t get a ping from Saylor.

Andis said Saylor did not have her transmitter when she went missing after wandering from her family’s rental home Sunday along Old Waccamaw Drive in the Hagley community.

According to the arrest warrants, Saylor, described as being severely nonverbal and autistic with a history of wandering and a known affinity for water, was left unsupervised near a body of water before she went missing.

Andis also said Washington County deputies checked the family’s home in Virginia, where they found the tracker inside a vehicle on the property.

According to the warrants, John Hayes and Geordyn Hayes encouraged deputies to use Project Lifesaver, despite knowing Saylor did not have her transmitter.

The two also allegedly tried to divert the search efforts away from the nearby water.

“It is important to understand that Project Lifesaver is a voluntary program,” Andis said. “A parent, guardian or caregiver is responsible for ensuring the transmitter remains properly secured to the client. The transmitter is attached using a specialized band designed for continuous wear. It cannot simply be unclasped or removed by the client; the band must be physically cut in order to remove the transmitter.”

Andis reiterated that Project Lifesaver works and he believes that if Saylor had been wearing her transmitter, deputies could have found her much sooner.

Gene Saunders, founder and CEO of Project Lifesaver International, said he does not recommend removing the band at any time.

“It can be used in bathing and in swimming,” Saunders said. “If they take it off, you’re gonna have the same situation that occurred in this particular search where you don’t have a means of locating them rapidly.”

Andis said his team will continue to work with the Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office as it investigates the circumstances around Saylor’s death.

Agents with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources recovered Saylor’s body around 9:45 a.m. Monday in the waters near where she was last seen.

Georgetown County Coroner Chase Ridgeway said there were no visible signs of trauma.

An autopsy of Saylor is scheduled for Friday morning at the Medical University of South Carolina.

“The cause and manner of death remain undetermined pending the completion of the autopsy and any necessary additional testing,” Ridgeway said.

Search efforts

The Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office spent hours searching for Saylor on Sunday and continued the search through the night into Monday.

Multiple agencies and methods were deployed during the search, including drones, K-9s, divers, search crews along the water and a Charleston County Sheriff’s Office helicopter equipped with Project Lifesaver equipment.

The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division sent a helicopter and an underwater drone to assist with the search for several hours. The U.S. Coast Guard also sent a vessel to assist with the search.

In addition, hundreds of neighbors from the area searched their own properties and surrounding areas and guarded docks, the sheriff’s office said.