A 5-year-old nonverbal girl was found dead in South Carolina after wandering away from her family’s vacation rental while wearing a bathing suit, authorities said.

The body of Saylor Hayes was discovered around 9:45 a.m. Monday following “an intensive search involving hundreds of people and multiple agencies,” according to the Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office.

Agents from the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources located Saylor’s body in the water near the area where she had last been seen, police said.

Saylor, a Virginia resident, went missing Sunday after leaving her rental home in Hagley Estates on Pawleys Island, a coastal community roughly 30 miles from Myrtle Beach.

At the time she disappeared, Saylor was wearing a light blue one-piece bathing suit and had a pink-and-white lanyard around her ankle with a tracking device attached.

The Charleston County Sheriff’s Office deployed Project Lifesaver equipment on land and by helicopter for hours — trying to pick up a signal from the tracking device Saylor was wearing, police said.

Project Lifesaver is an emergency search-and-rescue program designed to rapidly locate individuals with cognitive conditions, including Alzheimer’s, dementia, autism or Down syndrome, who are prone to wandering or elopement.

Other agencies deployed drones, K-9 units and divers, while crews scanned the waterways near where Saylor went missing.

The search also drew volunteers from across the region.

Crystal Cooper said she traveled about 80 miles from her home in Peedee, SC, to help with the search, WMBF News reported.

“I just got so emotionally invested in it yesterday [Sunday] because this little girl needed us and my momma heart was in it,” Cooper said.

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A neighbor who joined the search said volunteers tried everything to lure Saylor out — including walking pets through the area and bringing in an ice cream truck to play music throughout the neighborhood, WMBF News reported.

Another resident, Ronald Gagliardi, said he and others stayed out past 2 a.m. searching for the missing 5-year-old.

Gagliardi told the outlet he was heartbroken to hear the news Monday morning that Saylor’s body had been found.

“Decided to come in this morning to continue the search, although they found her now, which is, you know, it’s devastating, but it’s at least a positive thing for the family that, you know, she was recovered,” he said.

“It was really sad. I mean, I’m emotional now,” Cooper also told the outlet of the news.

“It’s just — it’s just heartbreaking, like really heartbreaking.”

Authorities have not yet released a cause of death.

Following the devastating discovery, officials praised the hundreds of volunteers and multiple agencies who gave everything they had to find Saylor.

“Hundreds of residents from the area searched their own properties and surrounding areas and guarded local docks,” the sheriff’s office said.

“The Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office thanks everyone who assisted in the search and sends its deepest condolences to the young girl’s family.”

As the community grieves, flowers have been left near the boat landing where search crews had been stationed, WMBF News reported.

Two Montana siblings whose lives were filled with promise are being remembered after they were fatally shot by their step-uncle during a family dinner.

Landon Ghekiere, 15, and his 12-year-old sister, Charlotte Ghekiere, were among eight relatives killed on August 23, when 44-year-old Alan Smith opened fire inside his parents’ home in Billings, Montana.

As their devastated parents prepare to say a final goodbye, they are focusing on the spirit that defined both children: curiosity, courage and a readiness to embrace new experiences.

Landon was remembered in an obituary as “thoughtful, affectionate, sarcastic, witty and intelligent.”

He had a passion for Marvel movies, video games and live music, and those closest to him said he was especially known for his endless jokes with his mother.

Landon had also engaged in numerous activities, playing soccer and baseball, and joining the Billings Senior wrestling team without any prior experience. He even played trumpet in the Senior High Symphonic band and was a chess player.

At the time of his death, Landon had been excited to begin his sophomore year of high school and was preparing to get his driver’s license. He was also looking forward to traveling to Germany and Switzerland on a Sustainability Living Tour.

When he grew up, he had hoped to work in a trade, his mother, Erica Jarussi Schneider, told KTVQ. 

‘All these dreams, all these things he wanted to do and worked so hard to do, they’re just… they’re gone,’ she lamented.

Instead, Landon’s obituary says he spent his last moments on earth trying to save his younger sister.

The two had been ‘polar opposites,’ but shared a loving nature and a sharp sense of humor, Schneider said at a candlelight vigil for the victims of the family massacre.

‘In their last moments, they showed unbelievable amounts of bravery,’ she said, according to the US Sun.

Charlotte had even called 911 when Smith began shooting at the family dinner.

Gunshots could still be heard in the background of the call. Within just three minutes, the house was set on fire, Interim Yellowstone County Sheriff Kent O’Donnell has said. 

For her bravery that night, Charlotte will posthumously receive the Youth Peace and Justice Foundation’s National Heroism Award. 

The organization also hopes to plant a living memorial tree in a national forest in Charlotte’s honor, as the foundation’s founder, Daniel Chapin, lauded the pre-teen for demonstrating ‘courage that deserves to be remembered.’

Those who knew Charlotte have also described her as a ‘bright, quirky, intuitive soul who became fiercely independent and curious as she grew older.’

‘Charlotte’s genuine curiosity about the world was unlimited and she was unapologetically herself,’ her obituary reads. 

‘She asked questions thoughtfully and fearlessly, and stood firm in her beliefs while also remaining selfless and incredibly sensitive to the needs of those around her.’ 

It goes on to describe how she had a special love for animals and insects – particularly cows and bugs – as well as her dogs, Macy and Ingrid.

Charlotte also threw herself into everything she did – from crocheting, painting and diamond art to paddle boarding and playing the violin. She also dabbled in soccer, gymnastics, dance, Ninja Warrior and jiu jitsu and had been planning to start wrestling like her brother. 

But she had spent much of the summer bonding with her dad, Adam Ghekiere, over video games and golf – driving him around the course. 

The two served as role models for their younger step-siblings, Owen Ireland, 13, and Chloe Ireland, seven, who were also killed in the family massacre.

Owen had looked up to Landon, with Adam previously saying his stepson started playing trumpet after watching Landon do the same.

Owen was also remembered as a child who loved books, LEGOs and gaming with his friends.

‘He loved to try new things at least once,’ Adam had said of his stepson. ‘He loved reading. That kid would sit down and just read to the point where I’d be like “Dude, it’s 10.30 on a school night.”

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‘He loved everyone,’ Adam continued. ‘He loved his friends, he loved gaming with his friends.’ 

Young Chloe also loved to have an older sister, an online fundraiser to support the family has said. 

She was remembered as a little girl who loved playing dress up, with Adam describing how she would wear winter clothes in the summer or a summer outfit during the colder months simply because it was what she wanted to wear.

The young girl was the apple of her mother, Megan’s, eye, Adam noted. 

Meanwhile, Megan was remembered in her own obituary as ‘the kind of person who left a lasting impression on everyone she met.

‘Being a mother was Megan’s calling in life,’ it said. ‘She was a wonderful mom who found the perfect balance between being fun, loving and a guiding presence for her children.

‘Owen and Chloe were the center of her world and she loved them with everything she had.’ 

‘Megan was one of the most kindhearted, genuine and loving people you could ever meet,’ the obituary continued. ‘She had a way of making people feel loved and accepted simply by being herself.’

‘She also had a special appreciation for the little things that made her smile – baseball hats, beautiful butterflies, coffee mugs and enjoying a good beer.’

Megan had divorced her ex, Brad Ireland, six years ago, after which she moved to Montana with their children.

That is where she met Adam, and the couple tied the knot last year. 

Megan’s parents, Barbara ‘Barb’ Smith, 72, and father, Dana Smith, 73, soon decided to follow their daughter, buying the house in Billings near her home while her grandmother, Evelyn, lived in a nearby retirement community.

Alan then followed his parents to Billings after they moved to Montana from Seattle. Public records show the family has been in the state since 2020. 

There, ‘he was like a hermit,’ Adam previously told the US Sun. ‘It got to the point where his mom didn’t enjoy living in her own house with how he was acting towards them.’

The parents finally kicked Alan out of the house a few weeks ago, Ghekiere said, and they had thought he was staying with another family member out of town.

‘So up until last week, we thought he was out of state because he said, “You know, I’m gonna go somewhere warmer.’ 

But when the family had their weekly dinner at his parents’ house on Sunday, police say he barged in at around 5.49pm.

About 11 minutes later, neighbors said they heard what they thought were fireworks, and at 6.02pm dispatchers received a call from what they described as a ‘female’ voice inside the house. 

When officers arrived on scene just 10 minutes later, they found the residence already ‘fully engulfed’ in flames, Billings police said. They also heard gunfire coming from inside the home.

Officers quickly spotted Alan outside in the back of the burning house and at around 6.13pm, a deputy ‘heard a final shot, which was broken away from the rest of the shots,’ Sheriff O’Donnell said.

His children were not even supposed to be at the Smith’s house that night, Ghekiere said, noting that the family normally had their get-togethers on Friday nights – but decided to postpone it to Sunday due to his work schedule and one of the children’s scheduled sleepovers.

‘I don’t think he expected my kids to be there,’ the grieving father said of his brother-in-law, whom he branded as a ‘monster.’

Brad Ireland, who is grieving the heartbreaking loss of his 13-year-old son and seven-year-old daughter, has also claimed that there were warning signs of Alan’s troubles.

‘There were many red flags and many people spoke out,’ Brad told the New York Post. ‘No one listened.’

Alan lived at home with his parents but spent his days holed up alone in his room on the computer, Brad said. 

‘No one knew what he did in there 24/7,’ he said, adding that Alan had been unable to hold down a job despite getting a degree from Eastern Washington University.

He had also been verbally abusive, Brad claimed, though he said to his knowledge Alan had never been violent, and records show Alan had no previous arrests and was never previously charged with any other crime.

CHICAGO (WLS) — A town hall on Chicago’s Near West Side brought fresh urgency to demands that two closed hospitals be brought back online, even as their fate remains entangled in a continuing court battle.

The gathering at Malcolm X College drew advocates, former hospital workers, patients and neighborhood residents, all calling for the reopening of West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park and Weiss Memorial Hospital in Uptown.

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Speakers said the hospital closures have left patients with fewer options and placed added strain on nearby health care providers already working to meet demand.

“Nobody is saying anything about the patients. Nobody cares where the patients are going. They think, oh we haven’t heard anything, that the patients have all been reallocated,” said Sylvia Williams, who worked at West Suburban Medical Center for 20 years.

Willie Williams, also a longtime former West Suburban employee, said hospitals in surrounding communities are now struggling to take in patients who once relied on the closed facilities.

“A lot of the surrounding hospitals, they don’t have the nurses,” Williams said. “They don’t have enough people in the emergency rooms to take care of the overflow of the people that are coming in.”

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The severe flooding also heavily damaged the Grand Canyon’s only water pipeline, a critical system that serves millions of park visitors each year. The destruction has created a difficult repair challenge and threatens to complicate an already yearslong effort to modernize the aging line, which runs through remote, steep terrain where even routine maintenance often requires helicopter support.

Following aerial inspections, park officials said roughly 40% of the pipeline appeared to have been damaged. The 12.5-mile Transcanyon Waterline has experienced dozens of breaks over the past several years, and a repair-and-replacement project valued at more than $200 million was already in progress when the flash floods struck.

Officials had not yet determined the full extent of the damage or how it could affect park operations, visitors and the people who live and work at the Grand Canyon year-round.

“We anticipate miles of the pipeline being destroyed,” Grand Canyon Deputy Superintendent Brian Drapeaux said.

A full survey of the devastation will not be completed until Tuesday at the earliest.

At least two people died in the floods, and one person remained missing as of Monday night after roughly 80 people were rescued over the weekend, according to officials.

The park stopped overnight accommodations, with officials saying significant water reductions are needed. This includes limiting shower time, turning off the tap while brushing teeth and flushing toilets selectively to protect the limited stored water on the South Rim, where most visitors frequent.

“They have got to keep law enforcement going, they have to keep rescue operations going, backcountry operations, park admin going, the clinic and the campground,” longtime river runner and Grand Canyon hiker Tom Martin said, adding that the park has hauled water in tanker trucks in the past.

The pipeline, which was completed in the 1970s, has broken more than 85 times since 2010.

The pipeline moves water from one side of the canyon, down to its base, across a bridge and back up the other side of the rough landscape. Any attempt to fix a break from rock falls or flash floods is precarious and costly and can take time, so fixing the latest damage will be complicated.

The pipeline upgrade project, which began in 2023, took more than a decade to design and fund. The project involves installing helicopter pads, building water treatment facilities and replacing several miles of pipeline. It also seeks to move the water intake for the pipeline further down the canyon to Bright Angel Creek, which would put it closer to Phantom Ranch, a popular lodge at the base of the canyon.

A 2018 evaluation of the project said key infrastructure for the intake would be outside of areas likely to flood.

Officials said even basic decisions proved to be complicated.

For example, the original pipe was aluminum, which is lighter and easier to move into the steep canyon but is more susceptible to breaking. Engineers chose a flex-steel material to balance weight and durability.

Even routine pipeline breaks lead to water restrictions. A decade ago, a hotel on the canyon’s rim that offers luxury dining and highlights its history hosting presidents had to reduce dishwashing and use paper plates and plastic utensils.

In 1995, a nearly month long repair on the pipeline required officials to truck in water.

The park had water conservation initiatives in place even before the latest flooding and damage.

The flooding has forced parts of the park to close, and more flooding was possible on Monday, according to the National Park Service.

“Consider changing your plans if you were going to hike, boat, or paddleboard to a slot canyon or normally dry wash. If you do still decide to recreate, check in at a nearby visitor center or ranger station,” the park website reads.

Officials previously said that the repair and replacement project would allow the park to meet its water supply needs for at least the next 50 years.

As the original pipeline was nearing completion in the 1960s, more than a foot of rain fell, which flooded the inner canyon and caused 40% of the project to be destroyed, according to officials.

CNN’s Wolf Blitzer apologized Monday after inaccurately indicating that US service members stationed overseas could be affected by the Trump administration’s push to restrict mail-in voting.

The remark came during Friday’s episode of “The Situation Room,” where Blitzer interviewed Democratic Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger about a lawsuit filed by Virginia and other Democratic-led states seeking to block President Donald Trump’s March executive order targeting mail-in voting. A federal judge last week temporarily halted the order for 14 days.

Spanberger argued that the administration’s actions were meant to discourage participation. “The continued attacks that we’re seeing from the Trump administration is really just an effort to get people fearful, to get people to stay home, and, in many cases, to eliminate what is a valid, safe, secure way for people to be able to have their voices heard and to vote,” she said.

Blitzer then told the governor, “And in Virginia, you have a lot of military personnel who totally rely on mail-in ballots if they want to be able to express their opinions.”

Spanberger agreed with the broader point, saying, “That’s true. It’s members of the military service, of our diplomatic service, intelligence services, people serving overseas in service to our country who get their ballots mailed to them at the various postings throughout the world.”

However, Blitzer made a “quick note of clarification” at the end of Monday’s program in reference to his exchange with Spanberger.

“We discussed legal challenges to the Trump administration’s directives for the Postal Service on mail-in voting. A comment I made suggested that US military and overseas voters’ ballots would be impacted by these directives. I want to be clear right now: those ballots are exempt from the Postal Service’s new rules implementing the president’s March executive order,” Blitzer told viewers.

“Those groups are covered under the Uniformed and Overseas Absentee Voting Act, just to be specific on that point,” he added.

A spokesperson for CNN pointed to Blitzer’s comments and declined to comment further.

Outgoing Army Secretary Dan Driscoll appeared to make a decisive break with Pete Hegseth as he prepared to leave office, reportedly criticizing the defense secretary directly to Donald Trump after months of speculation about tension between the two men.

Driscoll became the latest high-profile Washington figure to exit on Monday, when the White House confirmed that his departure was imminent.

According to The Atlantic, Driscoll met with President Trump last week and laid out a series of concerns about Hegseth’s handling of the Army.

People familiar with the conversation told the magazine that Trump was taken aback by the number of senior military officials and generals who had either been dismissed, pushed aside or blocked from promotions under Hegseth’s leadership.

Trump was also reportedly unsettled by Driscoll’s description of sweeping reductions across the Army’s senior ranks, as well as the service’s struggles to carry out a long-needed transformation.

Driscoll ended the meeting by telling the President that he was set to resign. 

A person familiar with Driscoll’s resignation said the secretary ‘brought up concerns with the administration surrounding Army transformation and readiness and Hegseth’s blocking those efforts specifically by firing the Generals who were responsible.’

One defense official believes Driscoll will be replaced by a Hegseth loyalist and will allow the Pentagon chief to do ‘generational damage.’ 

Sources also suggested Driscoll and Hegseth clashed over their ambitions, with Driscoll reportedly often telling people that he was close with Vice President JD Vance and even wanted to run for president himself someday. 

Hegseth himself denied reports he was preparing to run in 2028 late last week. 

The Secretary of Defense also reportedly disliked that Driscoll fostered good relationships with the media and tech executives, which garnered him additional roles within the Trump administration.  

‘The United States Army is more powerful than ever thanks to his work alongside the Commander-in-Chief and Secretary of War,’ Anna Kelly told The Atlantic in a statement, while adding that Driscoll had been ‘highly effective’ in his service. 

The Daily Mail has reached out to the White House and the Pentagon for comment.

Driscoll is an Iraq war veteran, tech investor and former adviser to Vance, whom Driscoll met at Yale Law School. When nominating Driscoll in 2024, Trump called him ‘a disruptor and change agent.’ 

As Army secretary, Driscoll was tapped for the unusual role of key negotiator to try to end the war between Russia and Ukraine. 

He was also a major force behind trying to cut the red tape for military contractors to quickly develop more drones and counter-drone capabilities as warfare rapidly changes around the world.

The Senate confirmed him in February 2025, voting 66-28, following an Armed Services Committee hearing that was largely unconfrontational and focused on how the Army could modernize its systems, improve recruiting and beef up the military industrial base.

Driscoll noted that his father and grandfather served in the Army, and he vowed to be a secretary focused on the needs of soldiers. 

According to the Army, Driscoll served as an armor officer from August 2007 to March 2011, deploying to Iraq from October 2009 to July 2010.

He also ran unsuccessfully in the Republican primary for a North Carolina congressional seat in 2020, getting about eight percent of the vote in a crowded field of candidates.

Driscoll had been rumored to step down at some point between now and the end of the year but the White House announced his departure Monday.

‘Secretary Driscoll has been highly effective in advancing President Trump’s agenda to Make America Strong Again at the Department of the Army by providing outstanding leadership during historic military operations, restoring an emphasis on readiness and lethality, assisting with negotiations between Russia and Ukraine , and more,’ White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly told The Daily Mail in a statement.

The Wall Street Journal added that Driscoll is set to officially depart at some point in the coming days.

Driscoll has disagreed with Hegseth on a number of issues, including the Defense Secretary’s moves to block the promotion of several Army officers and the April ouster of a key Driscoll ally.

The firing of Chief of Staff Randy George earlier this year by Hegseth means the Army will no longer have a Senate-confirmed leader, as Donald Trump has yet to nominate a replacement for George.

The news comes amid Trump’s own clashes with Hegseth, with the Pentagon chief rumored to have been sidelined within the administration.

Both Driscoll and George’s jobs require majority approval from the Senate. A former Hegseth aide, General Christopher LaNeve, has been working as the interim replacement for George.

The New York Post reported in April that Driscoll caused George’s firing because the two are close.

George was Driscoll’s top aide and an official said that Hegseth has been worried Driscoll would replace him ever since the infamous March 2025 group chat fiasco, when Trump administration officials used the Signal app to discuss sensitive info.

‘This is all driven by the insecurity and paranoia that Pete has developed since Signal-gate. Unfortunately, it is stoked by some of his closest aides who should be trying to calm the waters,’ a source told the paper.

The White House backed Driscoll in a statement at the time and a source said Hegseth ‘can’t fire’ Driscoll for the time being.

‘He is very concerned about being fired and he knows that Driscoll is one of the top contenders, or a natural contender, to succeed him,’ the source added.

The firing of George was reportedly an attempt to get rid of anyone perceived to be an ally of Driscoll, who is also said to be close to Vice President JD Vance.

In April, one senior Pentagon official argued to the Washington Post that Driscoll focused too much on his political future instead of his role managing soldiers’ training and equipment.

Three others, though, disputed the suggestion that Driscoll has been performing poorly in the role.

One said Driscoll, who worked in venture capital and led an Army cavalry scout platoon during the Iraq War, has ‘made a ton of institutional changes and stayed out of things that the military shouldn’t touch, especially with culture wars.’

George, a Biden appointee, is understood to have clashed with the Trump Administration’s vision for the Army.

Yet those familiar with the situation say Driscoll intervened when Hegseth previously tried to fire General George, who was confirmed by the Senate in 2023.

The general had long been seen as a target for firing within the Trump administration not only because he was selected to lead the Army by the previous administration, but also because he served as a senior military assistant to former President Joe Biden’s defense secretary, Lloyd Austin.

George has also spoken out in favor of diversity training for military personnel, telling lawmakers during his confirmation hearing that it is just one component in a broader effort to build cohesive teams.

During his tenure, he worked closely with Driscoll, who reportedly backed the general’s effort to continually experiment with and adopt drones and other emerging technology.

The two even traveled to Ukraine last year in an effort to gather lessons learned from the war.

‘There have been multiple instances where Secretary Hegseth has tried to remove George and Driscoll has said, “No he’s done nothing wrong. He’s good,”‘ one official said, adding that the Army Secretary ‘has been very clear that merit should speak for itself.’

It remains unclear exactly why George was removed from his position.

But his ouster came after he faced two major issues: Hegseth’s decision to block the promotion of two black and two female officers to one-star generals and the controversial appearance of Apache helicopters outside Kid Rock’s home.

Sources told the Washington Post that George tried to meet with Hegseth to discuss the blocked promotion, but was rebuffed.

Hegseth has purged more than a dozen senior officers, including Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General CQ Brown, Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Lisa Franchetti, the Air Force Vice Chief of Staff General James Slife and the head of the Defense Intelligence Agency Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse.