Parents arrested after South Carolina search for autistic daughter, 5, ends in tragedy near coastal getaway

A massive search for a missing 5-year-old autistic girl ended after authorities found her body in waters near Pawleys Island, South Carolina, and arrested her parents in Tennessee.

The Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office said John Herb Hayes III, 70, and Geordyn Nichole Hayes, 31, were arrested Tuesday evening in Tennessee and booked into the Carter County Jail on fugitive-from-justice charges.

The couple is accused of putting their daughter in danger or abandoning her under South Carolina law.