Parents Arrested After Virginia 5-Year-Old Found Dead In South Carolina

WASHINGTON COUNTY, VA — The parents of a 5-year-old Virginia girl who was found dead after disappearing during a family trip to South Carolina have been arrested and charged in connection with her death, authorities said.

John Herb Hayes III and Geordyn Nichole Hayes, both of Bristol, Virginia, were arrested Tuesday night in Carter County, Tennessee, according to the Georgetown County Sheriff's Office. Each was charged with unlawfully placing a child at risk or causing harm, or willfully abandoning a child.

Their daughter, Saylor Hayes, disappeared Sunday from a rental home in the Hagley Estates neighborhood near Pawleys Island, South Carolina.

Her body was found the following morning in the water near Hagley Landing after an intensive search involving hundreds of people and numerous law enforcement and emergency agencies.

Related: VA 5-Year-Old Found Dead After Disappearing On South Carolina Trip

Warrants Detail Allegations Against Parents

According to arrest warrants, investigators said Saylor's parents failed to provide appropriate supervision and safeguards for a "severely nonverbal, autistic five-year-old child with known affinity to water and history of elopement."

Saylor had been equipped with a monitoring device in 2024, but investigators said it had been removed before the family left Virginia.

According to police, Saylor was left unsupervised within approximately 15 meters of a body of water when she disappeared.

Investigators also said that after Saylor was reported missing, her parents directed search efforts away from the nearby water despite knowing she was not wearing the monitoring device.

Jacob Hayes and Geordyn Hayes are expected to be returned to Georgetown County, South Carolina, once extradition proceedings are completed.

Tracking Device Was Found In Virginia

Saylor, who was from the Bristol area of Washington County, had been enrolled in the Washington County Sheriff's Office's Project Lifesaver program since June 2024.

The program provides individualized radio-frequency transmitters to people at risk of wandering.

After Saylor disappeared, South Carolina authorities contacted Washington County officials for her transmitter frequency. Search crews were unable to detect it near Pawleys Island, prompting Virginia deputies to check Saylor's home.

They traced the signal to her transmitter inside a vehicle at the family's Virginia property. Saylor was not wearing it when she disappeared.

Washington County authorities previously said the specialized band securing the transmitter must be cut to remove it.

'Saylor Deserved To Be Safe'

Georgetown County Sheriff Carter Weaver said the arrests followed an extensive investigation into Saylor's disappearance and death.

"Saylor was a vulnerable five-year-old child who depended upon the adults responsible for her care and protection," Weaver said. "She deserved to be safe. She deserved to be protected."

The investigation into Saylor's death remains ongoing.