Virginia couple charged after nonverbal daughter, 5, found dead in South Carolina waters
Authorities have arrested a Virginia couple after their 5-year-old daughter, who was autistic and nonverbal, was found dead near a South Carolina boat ramp earlier this week.
John Herb Hayes III, 70, and Geordyn Nichole Hayes, 31, of Bristol, Virginia, were taken into custody Monday evening in Carter County, Tennessee, according to the Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office. Both were charged with unlawfully placing a child at risk or willfully abandoning a child.
The child, Saylor Hayes, was reported missing Sunday afternoon from a rental home in Hagley Estates in Pawleys Island. Her body was found Monday morning in water near Hagley Landing, a boat ramp that leads to the Waccamaw River, after an extensive search involving multiple agencies and hundreds of people.
Arrest warrant affidavits say Saylor’s parents left her without the supervision and safeguards needed for a nonverbal autistic 5-year-old with a known history of wandering and a clear attraction to water. The filings also say Saylor had been enrolled in a Project Lifesaver tracking program since 2024, but the device was removed before the family left Virginia. Once in South Carolina, the documents state, Saylor was left unsupervised within 15 meters of a body of water.
The affidavits go further, alleging that after she disappeared, her parents encouraged search efforts to focus on the tracking transmitter even though they knew she was not wearing it, while also directing searchers away from the nearby water.
The Washington County Sheriff’s Office in Virginia, which hosted the Project Lifesaver program Saylor was enrolled in, later found the transmitter assigned to her inside a vehicle at the family’s property in Virginia. The agency said the transmitter is attached with a specialized band for continuous wear and cannot simply be unclasped by the wearer; the band must be physically cut for the device to be removed.
Georgetown County Sheriff Carter Weaver called Saylor’s death “a heartbreaking tragedy” that has deeply affected the community. “Saylor was a vulnerable five-year-old child who depended upon the adults responsible for her care and protection,” he said. “She deserved to be safe. She deserved to be protected.”
He added: “Nothing we do can bring Saylor back. 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.”
Hayes and Hayes remained in custody at the Carter County Detention Center without bond pending an extradition hearing. It was not clear late Wednesday whether they had retained attorneys.
The case has drawn fresh attention to the dangers that water can pose for children with autism who wander, and to the importance of making sure tracking devices are actually worn by those they are meant to protect.