A missing 5-year-old girl was found dead after authorities said she “wandered away” from a home her family had been renting in a South Carolina beach town.
The child, Saylor Hayes, was last seen in the area of Hagley Estates in Pawleys Island on Sunday, August 30, according to the Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office.
Her body was located in water “near the area where she was last seen” around 9:45 a.m. on Monday, August 31, the sheriff’s office said in a news release.
Several law enforcement agencies as well as local residents were involved in the search for Saylor.
“Hundreds of residents from the area searched their own properties and surrounding areas and guarded local docks,” the sheriff’s office said. “The Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office thanks everyone who assisted in the search and sends its deepest condolences to the young girl’s family.”
Saylor had been wearing a light blue one-piece bathing suit and also had a white lanyard around her ankle when she went missing, the sheriff’s office said. She was described as 3-foot-6 with blonde hair and blue eyes.
During the search, the sheriff’s office explained that Saylor was nonverbal and advised anyone who might’ve encountered her to speak “gently and slowly” to her, as she’d “react positively to a gentle tone, smiles, and slow movements.”
Authorities were trying to track her through a transponder she had been wearing, according to the agencies.
In an update shared within hours of her disappearance, the sheriff’s office said deputies were trying to trace her location using Project Lifesaver as other law enforcement officials searched the local area from above using drones and a helicopter.
Authorities were also searching the water on Sunday.
Divers from Horry County had “examined 200 yards underwater near the rental property that the family is staying in,” the sheriff’s office said in another update on Sunday.
“We’re here until we find her,” Georgetown County Sheriff Carter Weaver said in a statement prior to the discovery of Saylor’s body.
Search efforts continued Monday morning.
Authorities had used Project Lifesaver equipment during the search, according to authorities. Project Lifesaver is an international search and rescue program geared toward helping law enforcement find individuals considered to be at-risk, including individuals with autism, Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.
Pawleys Island, where Saylor had been staying with her family, is a barrier island located along the coast, about a 25-mile drive south from Myrtle Beach.
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