Man who played Santa at Walmart is arrested after bodies of his two kids are found buried in his backyard

A man who was employed to play Santa at a Walmart in Georgia has been arrested and charged with the deaths of his two kids after their bodies were found buried in his backyard.

Elwyn Crocker Sr., 50, was arrested after sheriff's deputies went to his house in Guyton, Georgia, to conduct a welfare check on his 14-year-old daughter, Mary Crocker, authorities said.

Effingham County Sheriff Jimmy McDuffie said his office received a 911 tip from a caller that Mary Crocker hadn't been seen since October and that the tipster feared she was dead.

But Elwyn Crocker has not reported any of his children missing. So, authorities went to his house and questioned him. After the questioning, he allegedly directed deputies to an area of his backyard, where they unearthed the bodies of Mary and her brother, Elwyn Crocker Jr near a wooded area on the property on Thursday morning.

Mary and Elwyn Crocker Jr

Jimmy McDuffie said deputies went to Crocker's home on Rosebud Place in Guyton around 10 p.m. on Dec. 19 to investigate Mary Crocker's whereabouts.

He added:

Deputies questioned all the adult members in the house. They claimed that Mary was out of town with her mother. Deputies then determined that this was false information.

Information from Elwyn Crocker led investigators to search the grounds of the home and two bodies were discovered buried.

Elwyn Crocker Jr. apparently disappeared in November 2016, when he was 14, police said.

"Neither child had ever been officially reported missing," McDuffie said at a news conference.

Autopsies were performed on the remains and confirmed the bodies are the Crocker's children.

Effingham County Coroner David Exley said the cause and manner of death on the children are pending more test, including toxicological reports, ABC reports.

A child who was at the Crocker's house was taken into protective custody.

In addition to Elwyn Crocker Sr's arrest., deputies also arrested his wife, Candice Crocker, 33, who is the stepmother of the children, and her mother, Kim Wright, 50. Wright's boyfriend, Roy Anthony Prater, 55, was also arrested.

Elwyn Crocker Sr and Candice Crocker

All four suspects are charged with concealing the death of another and cruelty to children in the first degree, McDuffie said. Prater also faces a charge of possession of a controlled substance.