Carter County deputies arrest two wanted in South Carolina child death investigation

ELIZABETHTON — An investigation of the death of a child in South Carolina led to the arrest of a 70-year-old man and 31-year-old woman in Carter County Tuesday evening. Deputies with the Carter County Sheriff's Office placed John Hayes, of Bristol, Va., and Geordyn Hayes, of Bristol, Va., under arrest and charged each with one count of being a fugitive from justice for a crime in another state. Both John Hayes and Geordyn Hayes were transported to the Carter County Detention Center, where they are being held without bond pending an extradition hearing. There will be a hearing to cover arraignment and extradition for John Hayes and Geordyn Hayes 9 a.m. Thursday in the Carter County General Sessions Court. The arrests came after the Carter County Sheriff's Office received information from South Carolina authorities that two individuals wanted on felony arrest warrants out of South Carolina would be traveling in a black vehicle with a Texas vehicle registration plate to a residence on Marion Branch Road in Carter County. The arresting officers were Sgt. Cody Farley and Deputy Kevin Smith. They conducted surveillance and observed a vehicle matching the description provided pull into a residence on Marion Branch Road. The Carter County deputies then pulled in behind the vehicle and identified the driver as John Herb Hayes and the passenger as Geordyn Hayes. Deputies confirmed that the two were the individuals who were the subjects of the outstanding warrants from South Carolina. Deputies also confirmed the warrants as valid and that South Carolina would extradite the subjects back to their jurisdiction. The warrants out of South Carolina charge John Hayes and Geordyn Hayes each with one count of unlawfully place a child at risk of or cause harm or willfully abandon the child. At that time, deputies placed John Hayes and Geordyn Hayes under arrest and charged each with one count of being a fugitive from justice for a crime in another state.