A missing five-year-old girl was found dead after authorities said she “ran away” from a home her family was renting in a South Carolina beach town.
The child, Saylor Hayeswas last seen on Sunday, August 30th in the Hagley Estates area of Pawleys Island Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office.
Her body was found in the water “near the area where she was last seen” around 9:45 a.m. on Monday, August 31. Sheriff’s Office said in a press release.
Multiple law enforcement agencies and local residents were involved in the search for Saylor.
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“Hundreds of area residents 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 extends its deepest condolences to the young girl’s family.”
When she went missing, Saylor was wearing a light blue one-piece swimsuit and also had a white cord around her ankle, the sheriff’s office said. She was described as 1.90 meters tall, with blonde hair and blue eyes.
Saylor Hayes
Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office/FacebookDuring the search the… Sheriff’s Office explained that Saylor was non-verbal and advised anyone who encountered her to speak to her “gently and slowly” as she would “respond positively to a gentle tone, a smile and slow movements.”
Authorities said authorities tried to track her using a transponder she had been wearing.
In an update released hours after her disappearance, the sheriff’s office said officers were trying to determine her location using Project Lifesaver, while other law enforcement officers searched the area from above using drones and a helicopter.
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Authorities also searched the water on Sunday.
Horry County divers investigated “200 feet of water near the rental property where the family resides,” another sheriff’s office document said update on Sunday.
“We’re staying here until we find her,” said the Georgetown County sheriff Carter Weaver said in a statement before the discovery of Saylor’s body.
Search efforts continued Monday morning.
Authorities used Project Lifesaver equipment during the search, authorities said. Project Lifesaver is an international search and rescue program designed to help law enforcement find people considered at risk, including those with autism, Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.
Pawleys Island, where Saylor lived with her family, is a barrier island on the coast about 25 miles south of Myrtle Beach.
