SOUTH CAROLINA - The intensive search for a missing 5-year-old girl in South Carolina has come to a heartbreaking conclusion.
What we know:
Authorities announced that the body of Saylor Hayes was recovered Monday morning in the waters near where she was last seen in the Pawleys Island area.
The young girl and her family were visiting the area from Virginia, according to local reports.
The backstory:
Saylor, who was non-verbal, wandered away from a rental home on Old Waccamaw Drive in the Hagley Estates neighborhood Sunday afternoon.
Her disappearance triggered a massive, multi-agency response and an outpouring of community support. Deputies and K9 units scoured the neighborhood while coordinated drone flights scanned from above. Because of the neighborhood's proximity to the water, the search quickly heavily involved marine units.
The community rallied behind the efforts as hundreds of local residents joined the search by checking their own properties, reviewing home security footage, and standing guard at local docks to assist authorities.
Despite exhaustive efforts, the 5-year-old's body was discovered in the water at approximately 9:45 a.m. Monday morning.
What we don't know:
Authorities have not yet released a confirmed cause or manner of death.
The Source: Information from this article was sourced from the Georgetown County Sheriff's Office and WMBF News.