In a Thursday hearing before Judge Keith Bowers Jr. at Carter County General Sessions Court, the parents of five‑year‑old Saylor Hayes—John Herb Hayes III, 70, and Geordyn Nichole Hayes, 31—waived their right to counsel and formally waived extradition. The couple will be transferred back to South Carolina, where they face felony charges of unlawfully placing a child at risk, causing harm, and willfully abandoning a child.
Background of the tragedy
Saylor, a nonverbal autistic child, disappeared on Sunday from a vacation rental on Old Waccamaw Drive in the Hagley community of Pawleys Island, South Carolina. Her mother told officers she had left Saylor secured in a car seat for a short time before going inside the home. When she returned, the child was missing. The first 911 call was logged at 11:39 a.m. EDT, and officers arrived within eight minutes.
The search effort involved hundreds of volunteers and multiple law‑enforcement agencies. Tragically, Saylor’s body was recovered Monday morning from the water behind the rental home by agents of the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.
Legal proceedings
Both parents were arrested on Tuesday in Carter County on felony warrants issued by the Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office. Judge Bowers authorized their extradition and gave South Carolina authorities ten days to take custody. Until then, the Hayes couple remain jailed without bond at the Carter County Detention Center in Elizabethton, Tennessee. A status hearing is set for September 14 to confirm the transfer.
According to affidavits attached to the arrest warrants, Saylor had a known affinity for water and a history of elopement. Investigators allege she was left unsupervised within roughly 15 meters of the water. The child had been assigned a Project Lifesaver transmitter, which was reportedly removed before the family left Virginia. Authorities claim the parents misled searchers by emphasizing the tracking device despite knowing it was not on Saylor, and they directed search efforts away from the nearby water.
Ongoing investigation
The investigation remains active pending an autopsy scheduled for Friday at the Medical University of South Carolina. As with any accused, the Hayes are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Original reporting: FITSNews — read the source article.
