The parents of five-year-old
The child, who was nonverbal, was reported missing on Sunday, August 30, after her mother stated she had wandered away from a rental property in the Pawleys Island area. Her body was recovered from the water near the location where she was last seen at approximately 9:45 am the following day.
Investigation and Legal Proceedings
Georgetown County Coroner Chase Ridgeway has confirmed that an autopsy is scheduled to take place at the Medical University of South Carolina to determine the precise cause and manner of death. While official results are pending further testing, the coroner noted that there were no immediate, visible signs of trauma observed on the child’s body.
Both parents currently face charges of unlawfully placing a child at risk and willfully abandoning a child. These charges stem from the circumstances surrounding the girl’s disappearance and subsequent death.
Search Efforts and Safety Equipment
The search for the missing child involved multiple agencies, including the
Sheriff Blake Andis emphasized the importance of such safety technology, noting that while the equipment functioned as intended during the search, it could not assist in locating the child because she was not wearing the transmitter at the time she went missing. Officials stressed that the consistency of wearing such devices is critical for the safety of vulnerable individuals, as the technology is only effective when the transmitter remains secured to the client.
