By MELISSA KOENIG, US REPORTER and VICTOR HELLER, US REPORTER
Published: 22:12 BST, 31 August 2026 | Updated: 02:53 BST, 1 September 2026
A nonverbal five-year-old girl was found dead after she went missing in South Carolina this weekend.
The body of Saylor Hayes, from Virginia, was recovered on Monday morning after deputies, K-9 units and boats had searched for her throughout the night, alongside assistance from Georgetown County Emergency Management and hundreds of residents.
Agents with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources found Saylor's body around 9.45am on Monday in the water near where she was last seen wearing a one-piece light blue bathing suit and a pink-and-white lanyard around her ankle.
'The Georgetown County Sheriff's Office thanks everyone who assisted in the search and sends its deepest condolences to the young girl's family,' sheriff's spokeswoman Heather Pelham said.
Hayes wandered from a rental home she was staying at with her family along Old Waccamaw Drive in the Hagley Community on Sunday.
'We’re here until we find her,' Georgetown County Sheriff Carter Weaver said as the search started.
Deputies were attempting to track Hayes using Project Lifesaver, a tracking technology used to locate people enrolled in the program who may wander.
Saylor Hayes (right) was found dead around 9.45am on Monday in the water near where she was last seen
The five-year-old was found after hundreds of residents in Georgetown County, Virginia, and multiple agencies search for her throughout the night of Sunday to Monday
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division also sent a helicopter and underwater drone to assist with the search for several hours, while the US Coast Guard sent a vessel to help with the search as well.
Hundreds of neighbors also jumped in to search their own properties and the surrounding areas, with one neighbor telling WMBF how they tried to lure the little girl by walking with pets and getting an ice cream truck to play music throughout the neighborhood.
'It was really sad, I mean I'm emotional now,' said Crystal Cooper, one of the volunteers. 'It's just heartbreaking, like really heartbreaking.'
Georgetown County Coroner Chase Ridgeway said an autopsy has been scheduled for Friday morning, but there were no visible signs of trauma on the body, according to WPDE.
