Hayes was last seen at Paxon Middle School in Jacksonville, Florida. He and his best friend, Mark Degner, were both special education students at the school. The boys ran out of the building after an argument with a teacher at 1:15 p.m. and disappeared. Hayes was apparently seen getting into a car outside the school; it is unclear whether Degner was with him at the time. They took no extra clothes, money, or other belongings with them, not even their bookbags or Hayes's coat.

Police initially believed Hayes and Degner had run away and were still in the local area. They had told friends of their plans to run away; a third boy was planning to go with them but did not. The day before they disappeared, school officials caught them trying to sneak away from the buses after school ended. Hayes has run away from home before, though never more than a few miles from home and never for longer than a day. Degner has no history of runaway behavior.

Both children were relatively new students at Paxon Middle School and unfamiliar with the area. Degner had moved there from Indiana and Hayes from Port Orange, Florida. Hayes was abused as a toddler and was eventually placed in foster care. He lived in several foster homes before being legally adopted by his grandparents. In October 2004, Hayes's grandparents placed him in a therapeutic group home in Jacksonville, as they were unable to manage his behavioral problems. He was reportedly very happy at the group home.

After weeks passed and no one had heard from Hayes or Degner, and in light of the boys' medical problems, authorities announced that they were considered endangered and possibly met with foul play. They were last sighted together in Holly Hill, Florida in April 2005; two people saw them and the sightings were confirmed by police, but a search of the Holly Hill area afterwards turned up no sign of either of the children. Their cases remain unsolved and some agencies continue to classify them as runaways.