Nonverbal 5 year old found dead in South Carolina waterway after wandering away from vacation home

A nonverbal five-year-old girl has been found dead after wandering away from her family’s vacation rental home in South Carolina.

Saylor Hayes, who was visiting from Virginia with her family, reportedly wandered away from their rental home in Pawleys Island on Sunday while wearing a light blue swimsuit.

An intensive search involving hundreds of volunteers and multiple agencies was launched after she was reported missing.

Search teams deployed drones, K-9 units, divers and helicopters as they searched nearby properties and waterways. Authorities also attempted to locate Saylor using a tracking device she was wearing.

Residents from the community joined the search, with some staying out until the early hours of Monday morning in hopes of finding the little girl.

Sadly, agents with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources found Saylor’s body in the water near where she was last seen at about 9:45 a.m. on Monday.

Authorities have not yet released her cause of death.

The Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office thanked the hundreds of volunteers and agencies who joined the search and extended condolences to Saylor’s family.