We bring you a deeply saddening story of a tender young life lost in a manner that’s both terrifying and tragic. A two-year-old boy has passed away, and the incident has shaken the hearts of many.

The little boy’s father now faces charges related to the death of his son. It’s believed that he left the child alone in a room with a running space heater for about 15 hours.

The grim discovery happened on the morning of December 2, when emergency deputies responded to a 911 call, finding the young boy, River Carter, unresponsive in his family’s residence.

Nested in a quaint town between Fayetteville and Charlotte, the scene unfolded in a child’s room where temperatures soared past 100 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the officials at the location.

Investigators revealed that the little one endured about 12 long hours in these intense temperatures before the grievous discovery of his untimely death. This was one of the factors noted by the responding officers.

Upon examination, it was confirmed that the official cause of death was hypernatremic dehydration, a result of excessive heat stress from the environment.

Further findings detailed how the father had put his little boy to bed around 3 pm, as the child displayed signs of a cold, with a cough and mild fever.

In what appears to be a decision meant to save on electricity, Carter checked on his son two hours later, choosing to switch from the home’s central air conditioning to utilizing space heaters. Tragically, this decision coincided with the loss of his son.