John Hayes III and Geordyn Hayes, the parents of 5-year-old Saylor Hayes, were arrested Tuesday night in Carter County, Tennessee, and charged with unlawfully placing a child at risk after investigators say they misled deputies during the search for their nonverbal, autistic daughter — including allegedly knowing she wasn’t wearing her tracking device and steering searchers away from the water where she was ultimately found.
New details are emerging about the death of 5-year-old Saylor Hayes, and they raise serious new questions about what her parents knew — and didn’t disclose — during the desperate search for their missing daughter.
The Charges
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. They will be extradited back to Georgetown County, South Carolina, once proceedings are complete.
“Parents and caregivers have a fundamental responsibility to protect children who cannot protect themselves,” Georgetown County Sheriff Carter Weaver said. “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.”
The family had been visiting Pawleys Island from their home in Washington County, Virginia, when Saylor went missing.
What the Warrants Allege
According to the arrest warrants, Saylor — who is described as 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 disappeared.
The warrants further allege that John and Geordyn Hayes encouraged deputies to use the Project Lifesaver tracking program during the search, despite knowing that Saylor was not wearing her transmitter at the time. The warrants also allege the couple tried to steer search efforts away from the nearby water.
The Missing Tracker
Saylor had been enrolled in Washington County, Virginia’s Project Lifesaver program since June 2024, according to Washington County Sheriff Blake Andis. The program is designed to help authorities locate people at risk of wandering due to cognitive conditions or other special needs, using a small wearable transmitter that emits a trackable radio frequency.
Project Lifesaver became central to the South Carolina search effort, with a helicopter equipped with the tracking technology deployed specifically to help locate Saylor. But Sheriff Weaver said that Sunday night, authorities couldn’t get a signal.
The reason became clear only after Washington County deputies checked the family’s Virginia home at Georgetown County’s request: they found Saylor’s transmitter inside a vehicle on the property. It had never left Virginia.
“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 said he believes deputies could have found Saylor much sooner had she been wearing the device.
Gene Saunders, founder and CEO of Project Lifesaver International, echoed that the transmitter is designed to stay on at all times, including in water. “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.”
How the Search Unfolded
Saylor was reported missing Sunday morning, August 30, after wandering from her family’s rental home on Old Waccamaw Drive in the Hagley community of Pawleys Island. The Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office launched an urgent, multi-agency search that stretched through the day and into the night.
Deputies and K9 Pelle searched the neighborhood while Georgetown County Fire conducted coordinated drone searches. Midway Fire Department and the Sheriff’s Office Marine Patrol combed the water and shoreline, while volunteers guarded nearby docks. A CodeRed alert went out to surrounding homes, and a Charleston County Sheriff’s Office helicopter equipped with Project Lifesaver technology arrived over the area that afternoon to widen the search from the air.
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division sent a helicopter and an underwater drone, and the U.S. Coast Guard dispatched a vessel to assist. Hundreds of neighbors searched their own properties and guarded docks throughout the effort.
When ground search personnel couldn’t detect Saylor’s tracking frequency, Georgetown County contacted the Washington County Sheriff’s Office in Virginia and asked them to check Saylor’s home. That’s when investigators discovered the transmitter had been left behind, inside a vehicle — never making it to South Carolina with Saylor at all.
Saylor’s Body Is Found
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 on her body. An autopsy was 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.
Investigation Ongoing
Washington County said it will continue working with the Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office as the investigation into the circumstances surrounding Saylor’s death continues. As of this report, John Hayes III and Geordyn Hayes have not entered pleas.
