Elderly couple found dead after heater measures over 1,000 degrees at South Carolina home, reports say

An elderly couple in South Carolina was found dead after the temperature of their home heater was measured over 1,000 degrees, according to reports from local media.

Officials are still investigating the deaths of the man and woman, who were identified by local outlet WSPA as 84-year-old Joan Littlejohn and 82-year-old Glennwood Fowler.

The couple’s family called for a welfare check on Saturday to their home in Spartanburg after they had not seen their parents since Jan. 3, WYFF reported.

Spartanburg is a city near South Carolina’s border with North Carolina, about 73 miles south of Charlotte, North Carolina.

According to reports, when the police and medics arrived to the home, all the doors were locked, but the window leading into the bedroom was not secure. When police removed the window screen, they saw the couple in the bedroom was dead.

The air temperature of the home was measured over 120 degrees, local media reported via police. The temperature of the heater itself was recorded over 1,000 degrees.

Police said the body temperatures of the victims exceeded 106 degrees, the maximum measurement of the device used, WYFF reported.

The family told police they were at the home on Jan. 3 to help their parents with the heater. They noticed the pilot light on the hot water heater was out, and after moving a wire, the pilot light turned back on. The family then left the home.

USA TODAY has reached out to Spartanburg Police Department for more information.