Saylor Hayes passed away at the age of five after she went missing. Her mortal remains were found floating in the water where the family was vacationing.
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Add BollywoodShaadis on GoogleSaylor Hayes, a nonverbal autistic child who hailed from the Bristol area of Washington County, died as she and her family were vacationing in South Carolina. The five-year-old girl went missing while she wandered away from their family's rental home, where they were enjoying their stay in the Pawleys Island area of South Carolina on August 30, 2026.
Saylor Hayes' parents John Herb Hyes III (70) and Geordyn Nichole Hyes (31) have been arrested after their five-year-old daughter was found dead in the waterway in Pawleys Island, South Carolina. However, a report by Fit News revealed that the Virgina couple had previsously faced child abuse allegations in their home state as per the court documents they obtained.
The couple was arrested on September 1, 2026, in Carter County, Tennessee in South Carolina. The warrants accused them of unlawfully placing their nonverbal autistic child at a risk, which caused her harm. The warrants were issues after Saylor Hayes' body was recovered from the water near the place they were vacationing, a day after she went missing.
The reports stated that the two were had a child neglect case involving their two young children, who tested positive for controlled substances while they were with their parents. One was identified as a two-year-old girl whose initials were S.H., which matched Saylor Hayes' initial and age at that time. However, the document didn't provide full details of it.
The parents are now accused of failing to protect a severely nonverbal, autistic child. After Saylor went missing, hundreds of law enforcement officers, first responders, volunteers and neighbors did their best to help find Saylor. They were able to find her on August 31, 2026, and they found her body in the water where she was last seen.
Saylor Hayes' mother, Geordyn Nichole Hyes had shared a tribute for her five-year-old with a picture on her Facebook account. In the photo, she had shared an edited photo of her daughter with wings and atop it was writte, "Mommy's little angel." People who knew Saylor shared their condolences.
One user wrote, "So so sorry for your loss. She (is) your guardian angel now. Praying for God to cover you and John and her brothers with comfort during this difficult time." Another user penned, "I'm praying that this five year old angel gets the justice she deserves! The situation is shady and none of this adds up and a five year old is gone. If you guys were really her friends, you should at least be asking questions!" We also stumbled upon a video of Geordyn, in which her daughter, Saylor was seen enjoying her time on an inflatable water slide, as she loved water too much.
Coming back to Saylor's death, it happened because the officers tracked her too late.. It was revealed that Saylor had been equipped with a monitoring device since 2024 but it was removed by the parents before leaving Virgina. Sheriff spokesperson, Heather Pelham revealed that the equipment was not with Saylor at the time of her death but if she had worn it, she would have been located much sooner. Sheriff said:
"What makes this situation especially heartbreaking is that Saylor did not have her transmitter with her when she went missing. Had Saylor been wearing her Project Lifesaver transmitter, we believe the technology could have assisted search teams in locating her much sooner. While no technology can guarantee an outcome, every minute matters when a vulnerable child or adult is missing. We cannot emphasize enough how important it is for enrolled clients to wear their transmitters consistently."
What do you think about Saylor Hayes's parents past child neglect cases?
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