Girl found dead in South Carolina was not wearing tracking transmitter, sheriff says
GEORGETOWN COUNTY, S.C. —NEW DETAILS HERE.
The little girl found dead in South Carolina this week was not wearing her Project Lifesaver transmitter that was programmed to track her, according to the sheriff’s office where she was from.
Saylor Hayes reported missing on Pawleys Island
Saylor Hayes was reported missing on Sunday afternoon on Pawleys Island where she was staying in a rented home with her family.
Searchers said Saylor was part of the Project Lifesaver program, which is used to find missing people with cognitive condition. The Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office said it deployed Project Lifesaver equipment throughout the search to try to get a signal from Saylor’s device she was supposed to be wearing.
Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office
What is Project Lifesaver?
Project Lifesaver assists law enforcement in locating individuals who are at risk of wandering due to cognitive conditions or other special needs. Clients wear a small transmitter that emits an individualized radio frequency, allowing specially trained personnel to track and locate them if they become missing.
Saylor’s body found during search
Saylor’s body was found Monday morning in the waters near the area where she was last seen.
Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office
Authorities in her hometown speak out
On Tuesday, the Washington County Virginia Sheriff’s Office made a Facebook post about Saylor’s death and her participation in the Project Lifesaver program.
The sheriff’s office said Saylor was from the Bristol area of Washington County, and had been enrolled in the Washington County Sheriff’s Office Project Lifesaver program since June of 2024.
Authorities in Virginia said on Aug. 30, 2026, the Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office in South Carolina contacted them after Saylor was reported missing and requested information regarding her Project Lifesaver transmitter.
They said they provided authorities in South Carolina the assigned frequency and other relevant information to assist with the search. They said after searchers in South Carolina were unable to detect Saylor’s frequency, they check Saylor’s home residence in Washington County and found the Project Lifesaver device inside a vehicle on the property.
“It is important to understand that Project Lifesaver is a voluntary program. A parent, guardian, or caregiver is responsible for ensuring the transmitter remains properly secured to the client,” the sheriff’s office social post said. “The transmitter is attached using a specialized band designed for continuous wear. It cannot simply be unclasped or removed by the client; the band must be physically cut in order to remove the transmitter.”
Washington County Virginia Sheriff Blake Andis said the equipment did exactly what it was designed to do.
“What makes this situation especially heartbreaking is that Saylor did not have her transmitter with her when she went missing,” Andis said. “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.”
Andis said his office will continue to partner with authorities in South Carolina about Saylor’s death investigation but no additional information regarding the circumstances surrounding the removal or location of Saylor’s transmitter will be released at this time.