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Parents Charged After 5-Year-Old Found Dead in South Carolina

Authorities say the parents removed her tracking device before vacation and directed searchers away from the water, then faced child endangerment charges.

  • On Tuesday, authorities in Carter County, Tennessee, arrested John Herb Hayes III and Geordyn Nichole Hayes following the death of their 5-year-old daughter, Saylor Hayes, in South Carolina.
  • Saylor, who was autistic and nonverbal, participated in the Washington County Sheriff's Office Project Lifesaver program, but the tracking device she usually wore was left behind at the family's Virginia home.
  • Arrest warrants allege the couple failed to provide appropriate supervision for a child with a known affinity for water and encouraged searchers to use tracking technology despite knowing she was not wearing the device.
  • The couple faces charges of unlawfully placing a child at risk or willfully abandoning a child under South Carolina law; they await extradition to Georgetown County for judicial proceedings.
  • Georgetown County Sheriff Carter Weaver called the death 'a heartbreaking tragedy' and stated that 'parents and caregivers have a fundamental responsibility to protect children who cannot protect themselves.
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WMBF News broke the news on Tuesday, September 1, 2026.
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