South Carolina authorities on Tuesday revealed the cause of death of Stanley Kotowski, the Massachusetts man who went missing Aug. 16 during a family vacation in Hilton Head.
Kotowski, 60, had apparently been suffering from insomnia and anxiety when he wandered away from his family's vacation home in Hilton Head on the morning of Aug. 16. He had been missing for 10 days, but Beaufort County Sheriff's Office His body was discovered Aug. 26 in the basement of a home in Sea Pines.
Authorities later identified the deceased as Kotowski, and Beaufort County Coroner David Ott determined Tuesday that the cause of death was asphyxiation due to hanging and the manner of death was suicide.
“On the day of the incident, where he was located, a Sea Pine security officer was on routine patrol in the area with the Sheriff's Office. The Sea Pine security officer again walked through the area, smelled what appeared to be a foul odor, saw several flies in the area and contacted the Sheriff's Office,” Lt. Eric Cullendine said at a press conference Tuesday night.
Mysterious death of Massachusetts man during family vacation in Hilton Head, South Carolina, leaves family shaken: 'Unimaginable loss'
The sheriff's office said Kotowski was wearing a Coors Light shirt, dark gray shorts and no shoes when he left the scene. (Facebook)
Authorities searched the area around the property but “it was not easy to find” access to the crawl space underneath the home.
“We ended up finding a hatch on the deck by the outdoor shower. We removed the hatch, officers went down and shone their flashlights through it, couldn't see anything and had to crawl through the crawl space… and eventually we found the body,” Calendine explained.
South Carolina police find body of Massachusetts man who disappeared from family vacation in Hilton Head
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 a rental home on South Sea Pines Drive, and he appears confused in the video, stopping in the middle of the road to look around before continuing to walk.
Massachusetts man missing after vanishing from vacation spot in Hilton Head, South Carolina
The Beaufort County Sheriff's Office discovered Stanley Kotowski's body. (Beaufort County Sheriff)
“It was a great honor,” said Kotowski's wife, Jackie Kotowski. Local news media WJCL that “[h]He just walked out the door.”
“He had been suffering from terrible insomnia for about a month. He doesn't have dementia. His anxiety was getting worse and worse and he started to become a bit paranoid,” she said.
According to the BCSO report obtained by WJCL, Jackie told the sheriff that her husband “believes Sea Pines is a 'trap' and that there is a conspiracy going on around here that is out to get him. Stanley has stated on multiple occasions that people here are 'keeping an eye on him.'”
Authorities say Stanley Kotowski committed suicide. (Facebook)
Before leaving their rental home, Stanley reportedly told Jackie, “Promise me you'll go without me.”
“It is with deep sadness that we share the heartbreaking news that Stan has been found,” Jackie Kotowski wrote in a Facebook post on Monday. “Sadly, he is no longer with us. We are heartbroken by this unimaginable loss.”
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She thanked “everyone who offered to help, shared information and assisted in the search effort.”
Beaufort County authorities said at a press conference Tuesday that the entire community cooperated in the search effort. Even out-of-state property owners contacted Hilton Head authorities, asking permission to search their homes for any traces of Kotowski.
