|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
GEORGETOWN COUNTY, S.C. (BFMG) — The parents of 5-year-old Saylor Hayes were extradited back to South Carolina on Friday to face charges connected to the circumstances surrounding their daughter’s disappearance and death, as the Georgetown County coroner released new details from her autopsy.
John Herb Hayes III, (70), and Geordyn Nichole Hayes, (31), were transported from Carter County, Tennessee, back to South Carolina on Friday morning after both waived their right to council and extradition during a court appearance Thursday.
The couple was arrested Tuesday in Carter County on warrants issued by the Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office. Both parents have been charged with unlawfully placing a child at risk or willfully abandoning a child in connection with Saylor’s disappearance and subsequent death.
Saylor was reported missing Sunday after her parents called 911 and said the 5-year-old had wandered away after being left strapped inside a vehicle in the Pawleys Island area.
The report triggered a massive search involving hundreds of people and multiple law enforcement, emergency response and search agencies.
Saylor’s body was recovered Monday morning from the Waccamaw River.
An autopsy was conducted Friday at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) in Charleston. Georgetown County Coroner Chase Ridgeway said the examination revealed pulmonary edema, but no visible signs of internal or external trauma were found.
Pulmonary edema refers to a buildup of fluid in the lungs. The finding alone does not establish a cause or manner of death.
Ridgeway said additional testing is still underway and that the cause and manner of Saylor’s death remain unknown. A final autopsy report is expected in approximately 8 to 10 weeks.
The Georgetown County Coroner’s Office (GCCO) released the following statement Friday:
“On Monday, August 31, 2026, at approximately 9:54 a.m., Georgetown County Coroner Chase Ridgeway was notified by Georgetown County Sheriff Carter Weaver that the body of five-year-old Saylor Hayes had been recovered from the Waccamaw River.
Following recovery, Saylor Hayes was transported to the Georgetown County Morgue, where an initial examination was conducted by the Coroner.
During the initial examination, Saylor was found wearing a bathing suit. A strap was attached to her ankle that appeared consistent with a strap of a child’s wrist tether. No obvious external signs of trauma were observed during the initial examination.
On Friday, September 4, 2026, an autopsy was conducted at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) in Charleston, South Carolina, by a forensic pathologist.
The autopsy revealed pulmonary edema. There were no visible signs of trauma, either externally or internally. As we await further testing, the cause and manner of death remain unknown.
The Georgetown County Coroner’s Office anticipates that the final autopsy report will be available within approximately 8 to 10 weeks, pending completion of all necessary laboratory testing and review of the results.”
Hayes and Hayes are now back in South Carolina to face the charges filed by the Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office.
So, what do these preliminary findings tell us — and what, if anything, do they rule out?
We spoke with renowned forensic pathologist and medical examiner Dr. D’Michelle DuPre who explains what pulmonary edema can indicate, what investigators may be looking for next and why additional testing is critical before determining a cause and manner of death.
Dr. DuPre is also the author of “Money, Mischief, Murder,” which examines the Alex Murdaugh case, and has appeared in the Netflix docuseries “Death in Apartment 603: What Happened to Ellen Greenberg?” and Hulu’s coverage of the JFK assassination.
The investigation into the circumstances surrounding Saylor’s disappearance and death remains ongoing.
