Parents charged after 5-year-old found dead in South Carolina

Key Points:

• The parents of 5-year-old Saylor Hayes were arrested in Tennessee on charges of unlawfully placing a child at risk and willfully abandoning her after her body was found near Pawleys Island, South Carolina.
• Saylor, a severely nonverbal child with autism, was part of the Project Lifesaver program designed to locate missing individuals with cognitive conditions; however, her tracking device had been removed before the family’s vacation.
• Authorities allege the parents misled search teams by encouraging use of the tracking device despite knowing it was not on Saylor and directing the search away from the water where her body was later found.
• The Georgetown County Sheriff emphasized the parents’ fundamental responsibility to protect Saylor and stated the arrests are based on evidence but do not determine guilt, as the case now enters the judicial process.
• The Washington County Sheriff’s Office in Virginia confirmed Saylor’s participation in Project Lifesaver and noted the transmitter was found at her home, stressing the importance of the device in locating missing vulnerable individuals.