EVERYONE STOPPED AT THIS DETAIL: SAYLOR HAYES’ PRELIMINARY AUTOPSY RESULTS ARE IN — BUT THE BIGGEST QUESTION IS STILL UNANSWERED

Five-year-old Saylor Hayes was found in the water near her family’s vacation rental on August 31.

Now, preliminary autopsy findings have revealed a crucial detail about what happened to the little girl.

And it is not quite as simple as some early reports suggested.

THE AUTOPSY FOUND FLUID IN HER LUNGS

A forensic autopsy performed at the Medical University of South Carolina found pulmonary edema — fluid buildup in Saylor’s lungs.

That finding can be consistent with drowning.

But investigators have stressed that it does not, by itself, establish the official cause or manner of death.

No obvious external or internal trauma was found during the examination.

Additional laboratory testing is still pending, and the final autopsy report is expected in approximately eight to 10 weeks.

THEN THERE IS THE TRACKER

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

But when she disappeared from the rental property, investigators say the transmitter assigned to her was not with her.

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

According to investigators, the parents knew Saylor was not wearing the transmitter but nevertheless requested that searchers use tracking equipment during the search. Those allegations are part of the criminal case and have not been proven in court.

THE WATER WAS ALREADY PART OF THE SEARCH

Saylor had a known tendency to wander and an attraction to water, according to authorities.

Her body was eventually recovered from a waterway near Hagley Landing.

Investigators have also alleged that the child was left without adequate supervision near the water.

Her parents, John Herb Hayes III and Geordyn Nichole Hayes, have been charged with unlawfully placing a child at risk and willful abandonment. They have not been convicted.

BUT ONE THING IS STILL UNKNOWN

The preliminary autopsy gives investigators an important medical finding.

It does not yet provide every answer.

The official cause and manner of death remain undetermined while additional testing is completed.

And that distinction matters.

Because the question is no longer simply whether Saylor was found in the water.

Investigators still have to determine exactly how, when and under what circumstances the five-year-old died.

For now, one heartbreaking fact remains:

A little girl who was supposed to be protected was found dead in the water — while her family now faces criminal charges and a growing investigation into what happened before she disappeared.

The final autopsy report could still answer questions that the preliminary findings cannot.