NEW DETAILS JUST REVEALED: POLICE UPDATE THE CASE OF AUTISTIC FIVE-YEAR-OLD SAYLOR HAYES AS HER PARENTS FACE ARR-EST — SHERIFF’S HEARTBREAKING WORDS SHED NEW LIGHT ON THE LITTLE GIRL WHO DEPENDED ON THEM FOR PROTECTION
GEORGETOWN COUNTY, SC (WMBF) – Tennessee deputies are detailing the arrest of the parents charged in connection with the death of an autistic, nonverbal 5-year-old.
On Tuesday, the Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office announced that John Hayes III,70, and Geordyn Hayes,31, of Bristol, Virginia, had been charged with unlawfully placing a child at risk/willfully abandoning a child.
On Wednesday, the Carter County Sheriff’s Office said they conducted surveillance and observed a vehicle matching a description pull into a home on Marion Branch Road.
Deputies were told that two individuals wanted on felony arrest warrants out of South Carolina would be traveling in a black SUV with a Texas vehicle registration plate to that home.
The sheriff’s office said they pulled in behind the vehicle where John was driving and Geordyn was in the passenger seat.
The two were placed under arrest and charged with one count of being a fugitive from justice for a crime in another state.
The pair were taken to the Carter County Detention Center, where they are being held without bond pending an extradition hearing.
The hearing is scheduled for Thursday at 9 a.m. in Carter County.
A spokesperson with the Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office told WMBF the pair were not on the run, as the county was unable to hold them.
They will return to Georgetown County once the extradition process is done.
According to arrest warrants, Saylor, described as severely nonverbal and autistic with a history of wandering and a known affinity for water, was left unsupervised about 15 meters from a body of water before she went missing.
In the 911 dispatch call reporting Hayes as missing that WMBF received from the Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office, the caller is heard saying he needs to search the water.
“I need to go look at the water,” the caller said. “I’ve got to look around, ma’am. I don’t mean to be disrespectful, but I gotta find her.”
Agents with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources recovered Saylor Hayes’ body around 9:45 a.m. Monday in the water near the Hagley Landing.
“Saylor was a vulnerable five-year-old child who depended upon the adults responsible for her care and protection,” Georgetown County Sheriff Carter Weaver said. “She deserved to be safe. She deserved to be protected.”
Project Lifesaver
Washington County Sheriff Blake Andis said Saylor Hayes and her family are from the Bristol area of the county, and Hayes has been enrolled in the agency’s Project Lifesaver program since June of 2024.
Project Lifesaver helps authorities find people who are at risk of wandering because of cognitive conditions or special needs.
People in the program wear a small transmitter that emits a radio frequency, helping authorities track people who potentially go missing.
Andis said as of Aug. 11, Saylor Hayes’ band was on her ankle and working. It’s unclear exactly when the device was removed, but deputies said it had been taken off before the family left Virginia.
A helicopter equipped with the technology was deployed to help locate Hayes and was part of the Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office search.
However, Georgetown County Sheriff Carter Weaver said they couldn’t get a ping from Hayes Sunday evening.
Andis says Hayes did not have her transmitter when she went missing after wandering from her family’s rental home along Old Waccamaw Drive in the Hagley Community.
Andis said his deputies checked Hayes’ family’s home in Virginia and found the tracker inside a vehicle on the property.
According to arrest warrants, John Hayes III and Geordyn Hayes encouraged deputies to use Project Lifesaver despite knowing Saylor Hayes did not have her transmitter.
The two also allegedly tried to divert the search efforts away from the nearby water.
Andis said it is important to note that Project Lifesaver is a voluntary program.
“A parent, guardian, or caregiver is responsible for ensuring the transmitter remains properly secured to the client,” Andis said. “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.”
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 told WMBF he hasn’t seen a situation where a Project Lifesaver client takes off their band before leaving the state.
Andis reiterated that Project Lifesaver works, and he believed that if Hayes had been wearing her transmitter, deputies could have found her much sooner.
Georgetown County Coroner Chase Ridgeway said there were no visible signs of trauma.
An autopsy for Hayes 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 sheriff’s office spent hours searching 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 underwater drone to assist with the search for several hours, and the U.S. Coast Guard sent a vessel to help with searches as well.
In addition, hundreds of neighbors from the area searched their own properties and surrounding areas and guarded docks, the sheriff’s office said.
While the parents were arrested, community members said they still are left with questions about the entire situation leading to the death of Hayes.
“The human side of me is still trying to say ‘Okay maybe they were really trying to be good parents and she really did slip off’ but it’s just not adding up,” said Crystal Cooper, who helped look for Hayes. “And I hope for the children’s sake that they were being good parents and that it was just a major, major accident.”
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