A Virginia couple has been arrested following the death of their 5-year-old autistic daughter, who was found dead in South Carolina waters. John Herb Hayes III, 70, and Geordyn Nichole Hayes, 31, from Bristol, Virginia, were arrested Monday evening in Carter County, Tennessee, and charged with unlawfully placing a child at risk or willfully abandoning a child, according to the Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office. Their daughter, Saylor Hayes, was reported missing Sunday afternoon. Her body was discovered Monday morning in the waters near Hagley Landing, a boat ramp leading to the Waccamaw River in Pawleys Island, South Carolina, after an extensive search involving hundreds of people and multiple agencies. According to arrest warrant affidavits, the parents placed Saylor at risk of harm by failing to provide proper supervision and safeguards for a severely nonverbal, autistic child with a known attraction to water and a history of wandering away. The couple was being held at the Carter County Detention Center in Tennessee without bond, pending an extradition hearing. It is not yet clear whether they have legal representation. Authorities initially said that Saylor’s mother reported her child had wandered off from a rental home in Hagley Estates in Pawleys Island and was last seen wearing her swimsuit. Deputies were attempting to locate her using a Project Lifesaver transmitter, a wearable device that emits a signal detectable by law enforcement when the wearer is missing. Saylor had been wearing such a device since 2024, but it was removed before the family left Virginia, according to the affidavits. Once in South Carolina, Saylor was left unsupervised within 15 meters of a body of water, the documents stated. After Saylor disappeared, the parents encouraged search efforts to focus on the tracker, even though they knew she was not wearing it, and also directed search efforts away from the nearby water. The Georgetown County Sheriff, Carter Weaver, called Saylor’s death a "heartbreaking tragedy" that has "deeply affected our community." He emphasized that Saylor was a vulnerable child who relied on the adults responsible for her care and safety, adding that she "deserved to be safe. She deserved to be protected." The Washington County Sheriff’s Office in Virginia, which hosted the Project Lifesaver program Saylor enrolled in in June 2024, said the program helps law enforcement locate individuals at risk of wandering due to cognitive conditions or special needs. After Saylor disappeared, the Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office contacted them for information about her transmitter. When searchers in South Carolina could not detect her signal, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office was asked to check her home. Officers found the transmitter inside a vehicle on the property, but noted it was not with Saylor when she went missing. The transmitter is designed to be worn continuously, with a specialized band that must be physically cut to remove it, the agency explained.