A maintenance worker discovered two young children nearly naked and alone in an Acworth apartment complex Wednesday night.

According to the Cherokee Sheriff’s Office, the worker was looking for the source of a water leak at the Waldan Pond apartments on Bells Ferry Road when he discovered a 2- and 3-year-old locked in a bedroom of an apartment with no adult inside the unit.

The boys had been playing in a sink, which was the source of the water leak.

“I heard the water dripping and called maintenance because I figured it was a busted pipe or something like that,” said neighbor Henry Marshall.

The children were unclothed and conditions in the room were not sanitary, deputies said.

Deputies were called to the home a short time later and at approximately 8 p.m. the boy’s mother, 22-year-old Angel Henderson arrived at the location. Henderson initially told investigators she had only been away from the apartment for two hours but it was later discovered she had been away since 11 a.m that day.

“Initially, she said she had only been gone for an hour or two. But after they did some investigation, they determined she had been gone for eight hours,” Cherokee County Sheriff’s Lt. Jay Baker.

Henderson was charged with two counts of cruelty to children and remains in custody at the Cherokee Adult Detention Center with a $44,400 bond.

“Anything could have happened. They could have choked. There’s a number of horrible things that could have happened,” Baker said.

Both boys were taken into custody by DFACS.