The mother of a five-year-old autistic girl whose body was tragically recovered from a pond has faced several child abuse and endangerment charges since last year, it can be revealed.
Geordyn Hayes, 31, the mother of Saylor Hayes, five, was charged with one count of abuse of a child and disregard to life, and one count of cruelty and/or injury to a child, in February 2026, documents obtained by the Daily Mail show.
Documents show the first charge was initially classified as a Class 6 Felony, but was amended to a misdemeanor charge of delinquency of a minor.
She was bailed on that charge and entered a deferred disposition plea, which means that providing certain conditions are met, such as probation or community service, the court will not enter a conviction and she will not be formally prosecuted. Hayes is next due in court in August 2027.
The charge of cruelty or injury of a child was disposed Nolle Prosequi – meaning authorities chose not to prosecute that specific charge – and it was dismissed without prejudice, meaning it can be resubmitted at a later date.
The documents do not give details as to the identity of the child she allegedly abused, and Hayes has not been charged with any crimes related to the death of her daughter.
Hayes and her husband John, 70, were left panicking after Saylor wandered from her family’s rental home on Pawleys Island, South Carolina, on Sunday sparking an urgent search around nearby bodies of water.
Her body was found Monday morning, in a waterway near to where she ran away.
Saylor’s family said she was autistic and non-verbal. Although she had been previously fitted with a device to track her location because she often ran away, she was not wearing the device when her body was found.
The band has to be physically cut off for it to be removed, and the band was found in Washington County, Virginia, reports WPDE.
Geordyn Hayes, 31, the mother of Saylor Hayes, a five-year-old autistic girl whose body was tragically recovered from a pond, has faced several child abuse and endangerment charges since last year, one of which remains active
Saylor Hayes, seen with her mother Geordyn, 31, and father John, 70, vanished on Sunday after she wandered from her family’s rental home on Pawleys Island, South Carolina
The five-year-old’s body was tragically found in a body of water on Monday following an extensive search
In footage taken by GAB News just hours before Saylor’s body was found, Hayes appeared frantic as she speculated what could have happened to her daughter.
‘She would go in somebody’s house, you know, she loves food, she’s always going for the refrigerator,’ the mother told onlookers.
As a bystander said they had been searching for her daughter, Hayes continued: ‘Yeah, we looked on the camera, we didn’t see her… we didn’t see her on the camera.’
She said she and her husband were ‘just praying that she’s somewhere, and she fell asleep maybe.’
The Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office said the investigation into the tragedy remains ongoing and no arrests have been made.
Saylor was previously fitted with a device called Project Lifesaver, which is designed to track the locations of vulnerable people with conditions that make them prone to wandering or ‘eloping.’
However, she did not have the tracker attached to her body when she was found, and the sheriff’s office said the tracker band was found in Washington County, Virginia, where her family is from.
The Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office in South Carolina said it contacted law enforcement in Virginia after Saylor went missing, and it was found when they were provided the assigned frequency.
In footage taken by GAB News just hours before Saylor’s body was found, Hayes appeared frantic as she speculated what could have happened to her daughter, saying: ‘She would go in somebody’s house, you know, she loves food, she’s always going for the refrigerator’
Crews from the Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office spent hours Sunday night looking for the young girl
Geordyn and John Hayes have not been charged or accused of any crime in relation to their daughter Saylor’s tragic death
Saylor’s family said she was autistic and non-verbal, and although she had been fitted with a Project Lifesaver device that tracked her location, she was not wearing it at the time
Sheriff Blake Andis said the Project Lifesaver device is a voluntary program, and said his team ‘strongly believe in this program’ to help find missing children.
‘When our personnel searched for Saylor’s assigned frequency, the equipment did exactly what it was designed to do. It detected her transmitter and led our personnel to its location,’ the sheriff said.
‘What makes this situation especially heartbreaking is that Saylor did not have her transmitter with her when she went missing. Had Saylor been wearing her Project
‘Lifesaver transmitter, we believe the technology could have assisted search teams in locating her much sooner. While no technology can guarantee an outcome, every minute matters when a vulnerable child or adult is missing. We cannot emphasize enough how important it is for enrolled clients to wear their transmitters consistently.’
The extensive search also saw multiple agencies deployed, including the use of drones, divers, K-9s, and helicopter crews, as well as search teams of local residents.
A neighbor told WMBF that during the search, they tried to lure the little girl by walking with pets and getting an ice cream truck to play music throughout the neighborhood.
‘It was really sad, I mean I’m emotional now,’ said Crystal Cooper, one of the volunteers, upon hearing Saylor’s body had been found.
‘It’s just heartbreaking, like really heartbreaking.’
Georgetown County Coroner Chase Ridgeway said an autopsy has been scheduled for Friday morning, but there were no visible signs of trauma on the body, according to WPDE.
The cause of death and manner of death remain undetermined pending the completion of the autopsy and any other necessary testing.
The family is originally from Virginia, and had been on vacation in South Carolina when the tragedy unfolded
Sheriff’s spokeswoman Heather Pelham 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.’
The family is originally from Virginia, and had been on vacation in South Carolina when the tragedy unfolded.
Hayes’s husband, 70, had shared snippets of their life to his TikTok account, branded ‘Senior Dad Life.’
His videos attracted thousands of views as he shared heartfelt moments raising Saylor and her younger brother at his advanced age, including making them a homemade slip and slide and cooking dinners with the toddlers.
The Daily Mail has contacted Hayes’s attorney Daniel Robinson for comment.
