Authorities in South Carolina announced Monday that they believe the body of Stanley Kotowski, who had gone missing from Massachusetts, has been found “under a residence” in the Sea Pines area of Hilton Head, South Carolina.
“Today, August 26, 2024, at approximately 11:30 a.m., the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office received a call regarding suspicious activity from a residence in Sea Pines. During the course of the investigation, a male body was discovered in the basement of the residence,” the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement posted to Facebook. “The deceased male is believed to be Stanley Kotowski, 60, of Massachusetts. Mr. Kotowski was reported missing on August 16, 2024.”
The sheriff’s office added that the body was “recovered from under the home around 3:30 this afternoon” and an autopsy will be performed by the county coroner on Tuesday.
Ring doorbell footage released over the weekend shows Kotowski leaving his family’s rental home in Hilton Head, South Carolina, on the day he disappeared.
Video released by the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office shows Kotowski walking barefoot out the front door of her rental home on South Sea Pines Drive and into the street on Aug. 16, the same day her family reported her missing.
Kotowski also appears confused in the video, stops walking, stands in the middle of the road looking around, then continues walking. He has not been seen since.
“We continue to ask for the public’s assistance in locating 60-year-old Stanley Kotowski, who is missing and at risk,” the sheriff’s office said in a Facebook post attached to the new video. “He was last seen wearing a dark colored Coors Light T-shirt, possibly gray, dark colored shorts that appear to be dark blue or black, and was not wearing shoes.”
The Hilton Head community, working with the sheriff’s office, conducted a coordinated search for Kotowski Monday afternoon.
Kotowski’s family has asked Hilton Head area residents who may have seen Kotowski to contact authorities and to check security camera footage for any sightings of the missing man.
“Over the past month he had been suffering from severe insomnia and increasing anxiety,” his wife, Jackie, wrote on Facebook. “The week of August 19th, Stan became paranoid, believing people, including the authorities, were pursuing him.”
The family added that the sheriff’s office has been very cooperative and is “doing everything they can to bring Stan home,” including searches on land and in the water.
Authorities are asking anyone with information about Kotowski to contact the non-emergency tip line at 843-524-2777.
