- Saylor Hayes, a 5-year-old nonverbal autistic girl, disappeared from a vacation rental in Pawleys Island on August 30.
- Her lifeless body was found floating in the Waccamaw River the next day, near the place where she was allegedly left unsupervised.
- On September 2, parents John Herb Hayes III and Geordyn Nichole Hayes were arrested in Tennessee and charged with unlawfully placing a child at risk or willfully abandoning her.
- Newly released 911 audio captures the father's frantic plea for help, saying 'This is bad. This is real bad.'
- Saylor was severely nonverbal and autistic, with a history of elopement and an affinity for wandering off toward water bodies.
- Minutes before her disappearance, John and Geordyn left Saylor unattended about 15 meters (about 50 feet) away from a body of water.
- Saylor was enrolled in the Project Lifesaver program, designed for people at risk of wandering due to cognitive conditions, but was not wearing her transmitter when found.
- Authorities alleged that the couple's actions directed search efforts away from the nearby body of water where Saylor was eventually found.
A vacation in South Carolina turned tragic for the Hayes family when 5-year-old Saylor, who was nonverbal and autistic, went missing from their rental home in Pawleys Island on August 30. Her body was discovered in the Waccamaw River the following day, prompting charges against her parents for neglect.5
John and Geordyn Hayes left Saylor unattended near water, leading to a large-scale search involving hundreds of volunteers and multiple agencies. “This is bad. This is real bad,” John Hayes told a 911 dispatcher, expressing fear that Saylor may have wandered off. He described her as “very autistic” and noted her tendency to elope.6
The 911 audio reveals the frantic moments after Saylor's disappearance, with her father pleading for help. “I need help finding her. Please,” he said, detailing how she vanished while he went inside to grab supplies. The couple was arrested on September 2, facing charges of unlawfully placing a child at risk and failing to provide adequate supervision.
Authorities reported that Saylor's body showed no immediate signs of trauma, and the investigation continues as the community mourns the loss of a young life.
Saylor disappeared Aug. 30 from the family’s vacation rental in the Hagley community near Pawleys Island. An extensive search involving hundreds of volunteers and multiple local and state agencies followed. Her body was recovered from the water near Hagley Landing the following morning.
“Saylor was enrolled in Project Lifesaver, but her transmitter was found in a vehicle, not on her, and authorities allege the parents directed search efforts away from the water. Sheriff Blake Andis said the technology could have helped find her sooner.”
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