SPRINGFIELD, GA (KXXV) - Four people, including a man who reportedly recently played Santa, were arrested after two missing children were found in the family's backyard.
The Effingham County Sheriff's Office said the children were found when investigators were following a tip about a missing 14-year-old girl.
When investigators interviewed the family, they received conflicting information. Some said missing Mary Crocker had gone to live with her mother in South Carolina.
The girl's father, Elwyn Crocker, gave information leading investigators to the family's backyard, where the bodies of two teenagers were found. The sheriff's office said they believe the bodies are of 14-year-old Mary Crocker, who has been missing since October 2018, and her brother, 14-year-old Elwyn Crocker Jr., who went missing in November 2016.
This is Mary and Elwyn Crocker jr. Deputies say they are the two children found buried near their home. Their father, stepmother and step grandmother are now being detained and questioned in their deaths. It was a gruesome story that unfolded in Effingham County today@WTGSFOX28 pic.twitter.com/EgVDV8iiw6
— Robert Catanese (@RCataneseWTGS) December 21, 2018
An official missing report was not filed for either child, the sheriff's office said. An autopsy will be done to determine the official identities of the bodies and the cause of death.
Officials said a third child who was in the home was taken to a local hospital for observation. The child was identified by his mother as 11-year-old James Crocker.
Elwyn Crocker, 49, played Santa at a Walmart in Rincon, Georgia until recently, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution said.
The siblings' father, Elwyn Crocker, step-mother, 33-year-old Candice Crocker, and step-grandmother, 50-year-old Kim Wright, were arrested on Dec. 20 for concealing the death of another and first-degree cruelty to children.
The following day, the sheriff's office arrested 55-year-old Roy Anthony Prater, Wright's boyfriend. Prater was also charged with concealing the death of another and first-degree cruelty to children as well as possession of a scheduled or controlled substance.
The sheriff's office said all four suspects were denied bond.
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