The parents of Saylor Hayes, a nonverbal autistic five-year-old girl found dead after disappearing from a rental house in South Carolina, were arrested on Tuesday night. John Herb Hayes III, 70, and Geordyn Nichole Haynes, 31, are accused of unlawful endangerment of a child and intentional abandonment, the Georgetown County Sheriff's Office reported.
According to the arrest warrants, the couple failed to provide adequate supervision and protection to the girl. Authorities point out that Saylor had a known affinity for water and a history of running away, factors that made supervision even more necessary.
Saylor was reportedly left unsupervised about 15 meters from a body of water near the house where the family was staying, in Pawleys Island. The girl's disappearance resulted in her death, whose body was found in a river.
Authorities also state that Saylor had a Project Lifesaver transmitter, a tracking program designed to locate vulnerable people, but was not wearing the device at the time of the disappearance.
