A 60-year-old Massachusetts man reported missing during a South Carolina beach vacation earlier this month was found dead on Monday beneath a nearby home, ending a frantic 10-day search, authorities said.
Stanley Kotowski’s remains were found late Monday morning under a crawl space in the same Hilton Head Island neighborhood resort that he was last seen walking in on Aug. 16, the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday.
Local security walking the area on Monday reported noticing a foul odor and flies coming from beneath a property in the Sea Pines neighborhood. A deputy was able to enter the narrow area, described as not more than 3 feet high, and locate Kotowski’s body hidden behind a pillar, Beaufort County Sheriff P.J. Tanner said at a press conference Tuesday.
Stanley Kotowski was found dead on Monday, ending a 10-day search for him in the Hilton Head Island area, authorities said.
Kotowski, who was said to be experiencing mental distress in the days before his disappearance, died from self-afflicted asphyxiation by hanging, the coroner said at the press conference following an autopsy.
“It’s mainly cutting off the flow (of oxygen),” Beaufort County Coroner David Ott said while declining to go into further detail about the manner, particularly concerning the amount of space beneath the house.
Kotowski had flown down to Hilton Head Island on Aug. 11 with his wife and two family friends, Tanner said.
In the days before he went missing, his family said they sought mental health treatment for him. His wife told deputies that her husband had been struggling with anxiety and paranoia and hadn’t been sleeping.
He “believes Sea Pines is a ‘set up’ and has a conspiracy that the people here are out to get him,’” she told deputies, according to an incident report obtained by local station WJCL.
She also said that her husband had made “several statements of people at this place ‘watching him.’” He asked her to promise to “go on without me,” according to the report.
Kotowski was last seen leaving his family’s rental barefoot around 10:30 a.m. Surveillance video shared by the sheriff’s office shows him walking out the door and into the street, where he appears to stand, looking around in place for several seconds, before walking off camera.
His disappearance launched a massive manhunt, which included reviews of community surveillance footage and interviews with neighbors and potential witnesses. Authorities also used drones, helicopters and search dogs in their search, Tanner said.
If you or someone you know needs help, call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org for mental health support. Additionally, you can find local mental health and crisis resources at dontcallthepolice.com . Outside of the U.S., please visit the International Association for Suicide Prevention .
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