The Massachusetts dad whose body was discovered under a vacation home in South Carolina died by suicide, officials have said.
Stanley Kotowski, of Boston, was on a trip to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina , when he disappeared on August 16. He was reported missing by his wife just a few hours later, with the woman raising concerns over Kotowski's mental state , saying he had been suffering from "bad insomnia" for about a month.
She told authorities her husband was also "a little paranoid" and anxious as he believed someone was chasing him. Sadly, after days of searches, his body was found underneath a Sea Pines home on August 26.
During a press conference on Tuesday, Beaufort County Coroner David Ott said the 60-year-old man killed himself "underneath" a home near the rental he vanished from during a mental health crisis. He said: "We estimate the day of death is the day he went missing."
While police officials didn't reveal specifics about the man's death, they said he used an "apparatus" to cut off the flow of oxygen. The cause of death was established as asphyxiation by hanging.
Ott added: "It's definitely asphyxiation, but there's no other word other than hanging. Unfortunately, people believe that hanging means you rope up to a ceiling and you drop. It's definitely not like that."
Sheriff P.J. Tanner stressed that the situation was "very unusual" and said he understood why he wasn't found earlier. He said: "To even consider that being an entry point for the crawlspace is something you would probably overlook."
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Authorities said the community was cooperative in searching for the man. After Kotowski went missing, his wife Jackie told Boston 25 News: "He just walked out the door. He had really bad insomnia for about a month. This is a brand new thing. He doesn't have dementia." She added: "His anxiety just kept getting worse and worse, and he started to get a little paranoid. He thought someone was chasing him."
After finding his body on Monday, the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office said in a statement: "At about 11:30 a.m., today, August 26, 2024, the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office was alerted to a home in Sea Pines in connection to suspicious activity. Throughout the course of the investigation, the body of a deceased male was located underneath a residence.
"It is believed that the deceased male is 60-year-old Stanley Kotowski of Massachusetts. Mr. Kotowski was reported missing on August 16, 2024. The body was recovered from underneath the home at about 3:30 p.m. this afternoon.
"The Beaufort County Coroner's Office will conduct an autopsy on Tuesday, August 27, 2024, to determine the manner of death, as well as positively identify the decedent. We appreciate the assistance provided by other agencies, Sea Pines Security, and the community in the search for Mr. Kotowski."
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