Parents of 5-Year-Old Arrested in Connection with Child's Death in South Carolina River
Georgetown County sheriff announced that John Herb Hayes III and Geordyn Nichole Hayes have been detained in Tennessee on charges of child abandonment after their 5-year-old daughter was found dead in the Waccamaw River.
Georgetown County Sheriff Carter Weaver said John Herb Hayes III and Geordyn Nichole Hayes were taken into custody in Carter County, Tennessee, and are awaiting extradition to South Carolina. The couple faces charges of unlawfully placing a child at risk and willful abandonment after their 5-year-old daughter, Saylor Hayes, disappeared from a rental home in Hagley Estates on Pawleys Island on Sunday. Police were notified around 11:30 a.m. that the child was missing. An extensive search involving multiple agencies was launched, and on Monday morning Department of Natural Resources agents located Saylor’s body floating in the Waccamaw River.
"Saylor went missing from the rental home Sunday -- and her parents called police around 11:30 AM to report that she had disappeared," a spokesperson for the Georgetown Sheriff's Office told reporters.