South Carolina Magistrate Denies Bond for Parents Charged in Drowning Death of Autistic Child
Georgetown County Magistrate Steven Pop has denied bond for John Hayes III, 71, and Geordyn Hayes, 31, of Virginia, who are facing charges of unlawfully placing a child at risk and willfully abandoning a child. The charges stem from the drowning death of their 5-year-old daughter, Saylor Hayes, whose body was found on August 31. Saylor, who was non-verbal and autistic, reportedly wandered off during a family vacation on Pawleys Island, South Carolina. An intensive two-day search preceded the discovery of her body in a waterway. An autopsy indicated Saylor died of injuries consistent with drowning, specifically pulmonary edema. The arrest affidavit alleges the parents failed to provide adequate supervision and safeguards for a severely nonverbal, autistic child with a known tendency to wander and an affinity for water. The parents were arrested in Tennessee and extradited to South Carolina. 
