EVERYONE STOPPED AT THIS DETAIL: SAYLOR HAYES’ AUTOPSY IS RAISING NEW QUESTIONS — BUT IT DIDN’T ANSWER THE BIGGEST ONE

For days, people have been waiting for the autopsy results of 5-year-old Saylor Hayes.

Now the preliminary findings are in.

And one detail is drawing intense attention.

Saylor’s autopsy found pulmonary edema — fluid in her lungs, a finding that can be consistent with drowning.

But investigators are still not officially saying exactly how or why she died.

The cause and manner of death remain undetermined pending further examination and testing. 

NO OBVIOUS TRAUMA

According to the Georgetown County Coroner, the forensic examination found no obvious external or internal trauma.

That means the preliminary autopsy did not reveal an obvious physical injury that explains what happened to Saylor.

Her body had been recovered from a waterway near Hagley Landing on August 31, after an extensive search following her disappearance from a vacation rental on Pawleys Island. 

And then investigators noticed another detail.

Saylor was found with a strap around her ankle that appeared consistent with part of a child’s wrist tether.

THE TRACKER WASN’T WITH HER

Saylor had been enrolled in Project Lifesaver, a program designed to help locate people who are at risk of wandering.

But when she disappeared, the transmitter that was supposed to help rescuers locate her was not with her.

Authorities later found the transmitter inside a vehicle at the family’s home in Virginia.

Investigators allege her parents knew she was not wearing the device and nevertheless requested search efforts involving the tracking system. 

That detail has become a major focus of the investigation.

But it is important to separate allegations from proven facts.

Saylor’s parents, John Herb Hayes III and Geordyn Nichole Hayes, have been charged with unlawfully placing a child at risk and willfully abandoning a child. They have not been convicted of those charges. 

THE AUTOPSY DID NOT CLOSE THE CASE

In fact, it may leave investigators with even more questions.

Pulmonary edema is consistent with drowning, but officials have not yet classified Saylor’s death as accidental or otherwise.

A final report is expected to take several more weeks.

So the biggest question remains unanswered:

What exactly happened to Saylor before she ended up in the water?

The autopsy has provided an important medical finding.

But it has not provided the complete story.

And that is why this case is far from over.