Saylor Hayes' Parents Arrested In Connection With Her Death

Saylor Hayes Parents Arrested For Allegedly Abandoning Child Published September 2, 2026 6:19 AM PDT The parents of 5-year-old Saylor Hayes have been arrested for allegedly abandoning their child, leading to her untimely death in a South Carolina river, according to police. Georgetown County Sheriff Carter Weaver announced Tuesday that John Herb Hayes III and Geordyn Nichole Hayes were apprehended in Carter County, Tennessee, and are currently awaiting extradition back to Georgetown. Weaver said the two were charged with unlawfully placing a child at risk/willfully abandoning a child in connection with Saylor disappearing from a rental home in Hagley Estates on Pawleys Island, SC, and then ending up dead. Police said Hayes' body was discovered Monday morning in the Waccamaw River during an intense search for the child involving multiple agencies. A rep for the Georgetown Sheriff's Office told TMZ ... Saylor went missing from the rental home Sunday -- and her parents called police around 11:30 AM to report that she had disappeared. Hundreds of people participated in the search, with agents from the Department of Natural Resources spotting Saylor's corpse floating on the water's surface while they were in a boat. The medical examiner is conducting an autopsy to determine Saylor's cause and manner of death. Related articles Geordyn Nichole Hayes John Herb Hayes III Saylor Hayes RIP Current Events Arrests News Police