Parents arrested in death of 5-year-old autistic girl in South Carolina

The parents of 5-year-old Saylor Hayes have been arrested in connection with the disappearance and death of their autistic daughter in Pawleys Island, South Carolina.

John Herb Hayes III, 70, and Geordyn Nichole Hayes, 31, were apprehended in Carter County, Tennessee, and are awaiting extradition to Georgetown County. They face charges of unlawfully placing a child at risk and willful abandonment.

According to arrest warrants, the parents failed to provide appropriate supervision for the nonverbal child, who had a known affinity for water. Authorities allege the parents removed the child's GPS monitoring device before leaving Virginia and subsequently misled investigators by encouraging them to use tracking technology despite knowing the device was gone. Furthermore, the warrants claim the parents directed search efforts away from the body of water where the child was eventually found.