Cars of at least four people who dropped by the county recycling center just before closing time Wednesday were locked in for nearly an hour by a county employee who left for the day.

Hall County deputies were able to get in touch with a keyholder to let them out, authorities confirmed Friday.

Hall County sheriff’s Sgt. Kiley Sargent confirmed the incident, which was first reported to The Times via e-mail from a person who said she was a wife of one of the persons locked inside the Tadmore Compactor off Ga. 323.

Sargent said "three or four" cars pulled into the compactor site to unload recyclables shortly before 7 p.m.

"They said the gatekeeper just walked out, locked up and went home," Sargent said. "They didn’t know who to call but 911."

A deputy responded and was able to contact a keyholder, who came to the facility and unlocked the gates about 45 minutes after the 911 call, Sargent said.

A person who identified herself as Janice Francis said in an e-mail to The Times that her husband arrived at the center at 6:50 p.m. Francis said an employee at the facility told her husband that he was leaving and locking the gate.

"He finished as fast as he could," she wrote. "The gate was padlocked shut when my husband arrived at the gate."

Beginning July 5, the county’s 13 compactor sites began closing at 7 p.m. instead of 9 p.m.

The county now closes the compactor sites two hours earlier in hopes of saving more than $82,000 over the next year.

Sargent said deputies did not determine that a crime had occurred.

Hall County Administrator Charley Nix called the incident "an unfortunate mistake."

"Once we obviously discovered these folks were there, we were there in 10 minutes or so," Nix said. "I hope we can get a hold of the citizens and apologize."

Nix said the county is in the process of investigating the incident.