A nonverbal 5-year-old Virginia girl was found dead Monday morning after wandering from her family’s South Carolina vacation rental in her bathing suit.
Saylor Hayes, 5, disappeared Sunday from the Hagley Estates rental home in Pawleys Island, roughly 30 miles from Myrtle Beach, according to the Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office. She was wearing a one-piece light blue bathing suit and had a pink and white lanyard with a tracking device around her ankle when she vanished.
The Charleston County Sheriff’s Office deployed Project Lifesaver equipment on land and by helicopter for hours, attempting to pick up a signal from Saylor’s ankle tracker. Project Lifesaver is an emergency search-and-rescue program designed to rapidly locate individuals with cognitive conditions, including Alzheimer’s, dementia, autism or Down syndrome, who are prone to wandering or elopement.
Other agencies deployed drones, K-9 units and divers while crews scanned the waterways near where Saylor went missing. The search drew volunteers from across the region, with hundreds joining official efforts.
Crystal Cooper traveled about 80 miles from her home in Peedee, South Carolina, to help with the search.
“I just got so emotionally invested in it yesterday [Sunday] because this little girl needed us and my momma heart was in it,” Cooper said.
A neighbor who joined the search said volunteers tried everything to lure Saylor out, including walking pets through the area and bringing in an ice cream truck to play music throughout the neighborhood.
Ronald Gagliardi, another resident, said he and others stayed out past 2 a.m. Searching for the missing 5-year-old.
“Decided to come in this morning to continue the search, although they found her now, which is, you know, it’s devastating, but it’s at least a positive thing for the family that, you know, she was recovered,” he said.
Agents with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources found Saylor’s body in the water near where she was last seen at around 9:45 a.m. Monday, police said. The discovery came after what the sheriff’s office described as “an intensive search involving hundreds of people and multiple agencies.”
“It was really sad. I mean, I’m emotional now,” Cooper told WMBF News of the news.
“It’s just — it’s just heartbreaking, like really heartbreaking.”
Authorities have not yet released a cause of death.
Following the devastating discovery, officials praised the hundreds of volunteers and multiple agencies who gave everything they had to find Saylor.
“Hundreds of residents from the area searched their own properties and surrounding areas and guarded local docks,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
“The Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office thanks everyone who assisted in the search and sends its deepest condolences to the young girl’s family.”
As the community grieves, flowers have been left near the boat landing where search crews had been stationed.