A five-year-old girl was found dead in a South Carolina waterway Monday after wandering away from her family’s vacation rental home during a family trip.

The child, Saylor Hayes, was nonverbal and had disappeared from a rental property in Hagley Estates in Pawleys Island on Sunday.

Her body was discovered at around 9:45 a.m. Monday by agents with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources in the water near where she was last seen, according to the Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office.

Saylor was visiting South Carolina with her family from Virginia.

At the time she disappeared, she was wearing a light blue one-piece bathing suit and had a pink-and-white lanyard around her ankle with a tracking device attached.

Hundreds Joined the Search
The disappearance immediately triggered a massive search operation involving multiple law enforcement agencies, rescue teams and local residents.

The Charleston County Sheriff’s Office used Project Lifesaver equipment on the ground and from a helicopter in an attempt to locate the signal from Saylor’s tracking device.

Drones, K-9 teams, divers and watercraft were also deployed as crews searched the waterways and surrounding properties.

The search continued throughout Sunday night and into Monday morning.

Local residents joined law enforcement in the effort, with hundreds of people checking nearby properties, roads and waterways.

Some volunteers traveled significant distances to help.

Crystal Cooper, who drove about 80 miles from her home in Peedee, South Carolina, to join the search, said she quickly became emotionally invested in finding the missing child.

“I just got so emotionally invested in it,” Cooper said. “This little girl needed us.”

Residents tried a variety of ways to attract Saylor if she was hiding nearby. Some walked pets through the neighborhood, while an ice cream truck played music in an attempt to draw her attention.

Another resident, Ronald Gagliardi, said he and other volunteers continued searching until after 2 a.m.

Devastating Discovery
The search ended with heartbreaking news Monday morning.

Saylor’s body was found in the water near the area where she had disappeared.

Authorities have not yet released a cause of death.

The discovery devastated the volunteers who had spent hours searching for her.

Cooper described the moment as heartbreaking after so many people had hoped the little girl would be found alive.

The community’s grief was also visible near the boat landing where search crews had gathered. Flowers were left at the site following the discovery.

A Community That Came Together
Although the outcome was tragic, authorities praised the hundreds of residents and agencies who joined the search.

The sheriff’s office said local residents searched their own properties and surrounding areas and helped guard nearby docks while emergency crews worked through the night.

For Saylor’s family, the search that began with hope ended with an unbearable loss.

A little girl who had simply wandered away from a vacation rental was found hours later in the surrounding waters.

Her family now faces the devastating task of bringing her home.

The investigation into what happened remains ongoing, and authorities have yet to determine how Saylor entered the water or what caused her death.

Course: NY Post