BODIES of a supermarket Santa employee's children were found buried in his back garden on Thursday in Georgia, US.

Mary Crocker, 13, and Elwyn Crocker Jr, 14, were discovered after worried neighbours told police that the teens had vanished.

Dad Elwyn Crocker Sr was alerted to the sheriff’s department after a tipster called the police to share concerns about his missing children.

Elwyn Jr vanished two years ago, while his sister Mary was last seen in October.

Neither child was reported missing.

Their identities were confirmed Tuesday, with cops yet to outline a possible cause of death, reported Metro.

Crocker’s neighbour Gary Bennett told WSAV that 13-year-old Mary had been put to work in the garden until her hands were red raw.

He said: “Other kids said at school they could tell stuff was wrong with her hands. They were red.

“That was from being out in the yard, out there most of the time working.”

Crocker Sr, who turned 50 on Christmas Day, has been charged with concealing a death and child cruelty.

Also facing the same charges are his wife Kim – who was the teen’s stepmum - her mum Kim Wright, as well as Wright’s boyfriend Anthony Prater.

The four suspects are currently being held in Effingham County Jail without bond.

Effingham County Sheriff Jimmy McDuffie told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “I’ve been doing this 41 years, and a while ago I almost broke down in tears.

“It’s that bad. I cannot understand how you do children like this. It’s horrible.”

Investigators confirmed that the family was reported to the Division of Family and Children Services, after doubts and worries were raised about how Elwyn Jr was missing for two years.

Detectives are now attempting to track down the children’s mother Candice, who is believed to be homeless and living in South Carolina.

A third child with special needs was found alive at the Crocker home in Guyton, Georgia.