ATLANTA - Atlanta police say 17-month-old twin sisters are recovering from mild dehydration after they were locked in their mother's car for over an hour.

Police say they received a call early Thursday from a security guard at an apartment building who said he had spotted the girls locked inside a Cadillac Escalade in the apartment's parking lot.

By the time officers arrived, the guard said the girls had been inside for more than an hour.

Police say the twins were sweaty and had been sitting in soiled diapers. They say the mother told officers she had stepped away for a few minutes, but they say evidence didn't support her story.

The mother, whose name was not released, has been charged with child cruelty and reckless conduct.