Overview
- The child, Saylor Hayes, wandered away from a rental home in the Hagley Estates neighborhood on Pawleys Island while visiting with her family, with authorities reporting the disappearance on Sunday.
- A multi-agency response including deputies, K9 teams, drones, divers, marine patrols, helicopters and hundreds of volunteers searched the area and scanned nearby waterways.
- Agents from the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources recovered Saylor’s body in waters near where she was last seen around 9:45 a.m. on Monday.
- Authorities said they used Project Lifesaver equipment to try to detect a transponder Saylor was believed to be wearing and the Georgetown County Coroner has scheduled an autopsy for Friday to determine cause and manner of death.
- Following evidence collected during the probe, Saylor’s parents were arrested and charged with unlawfully placing a child at risk or willful abandonment, officials said, and the investigation remains active with officials not ruling out any scenarios.