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. 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 parano.