Police arrest Geordyn Hayes in daughter Saylor’s death: ‘directed search efforts away from the nearby body of water’

“FOCUS ON THE TRACKER AND STAY AWAY FROM THE WATER”!!! BELIEVE IT OR NOT, POLICE SAY GEORDYN NICHOLE HAYES AND JOHN HERB HAYES III MISDIRECTED SEARCH TEAMS AFTER THEIR NONVERBAL DAUGHTER DISAPPEARED… AND BOTH PARENTS NOW FACE CRIMINAL CHARGES FOLLOWING HER DEATH.

A mother faces criminal charges after her five-year-old daughter was found dead during an out-of-state trip.

The victim has been identified as Saylor Hayes.

Saylor was nonverbal.

She was also autistic.

Months earlier, her mother had already been arrested on child neglect allegations.

Geordyn Nichole Hayes, 31, was arrested on February 17 in Virginia.

That initial arrest was handled by the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, according to documents viewed by News 5.

Deputies made the arrest in connection with an incident reported in the Abingdon area.

Geordyn was charged with child abuse/neglect: reckless disregard for life.

A sheriff’s office report stated that the victim in the February incident was a juvenile male.

Her relationship to the alleged victim is not currently known.

A second warrant claimed that Geordyn had willfully or negligently caused or permitted the child’s life to be endangered, per the outlet.

Geordyn was only charged with those crimes in connection with the February case.

The final outcome of that case is not currently known.

The Washington County, Virginia Courthouse was unable to be immediately contacted.

That courthouse facility was closed due to microbial growth.

Then came a family trip to South Carolina six months later.

On Sunday, August 30, Saylor was reported missing during the trip.

The child was found dead the following day.

Saylor had a documented tendency to wander off.

She had a history of elopement.

She also had a known affinity to water.

Because Saylor tended to wander, she was supposed to wear a Project Lifesaver transmitter.

She began wearing the monitoring device in 2024.

Yet it is not currently clear why Saylor stopped wearing the tracker.

Police confirmed that she was not wearing the device when she left the family’s vacation property.

Authorities subsequently accused both parents of interfering with the rescue operation.

The parents were also accused of complicating the search effort to find Saylor.

Saylor’s father was identified as 70-year-old John Herb Hayes III.

Police detailed the search response while announcing the parents’ arrests.

“[They] encouraged search efforts to be directed toward the use of tracking technology, despite knowing that the child was not wearing the monitoring device,” police said in the statement while announcing their arrests.

“[They] further directed search efforts away from the nearby body of water.”

Then law enforcement took both parents into custody.

On Tuesday, September 1, John and Geordyn were arrested in Tennessee in connection to their daughter’s death.

They were each charged with unlawfully placing a child at risk/wilfully abandoning a child.

An arrest affidavit detailed the specific claims against the couple.

The arrest affidavit stated that John and Geordyn had been accused of putting Saylor “at an unreasonable risk of harm affecting her life and safety by failing to provide supervision and safeguards appropriate for a severely nonverbal, autistic, 5-year-old child with a known affinity to water and a history of elopement.”

Both parents now face transfer back to the state where Saylor died.

John and Geordyn are expected to be extradited back to Georgetown County for the case.

It is not currently clear whether either defendant has entered a plea following their arrests.

It is also not currently clear whether either defendant has retained legal counsel.

Authorities are awaiting formal medical findings.

Saylor’s autopsy is scheduled to take place on Friday, September 4, in order to confirm her cause of death.

Support resources remain available for reporting suspected abuse.

If you or someone you know is experiencing child abuse, call or text Child Help Hotline at 1-800-422-4453.

The charges are allegations and have not been proven in court.