Photo: Beaufort County Sheriff's Office
The cause of death for Stanley Kotowski, a Massachusetts man who went missing while on vacation in South Carolina, has been confirmed as suicide by asphyxiation by hanging, according to Beaufort County Coroner David Ott. Kotowski, 60, was found dead on Monday (August 26) in a small crawl space underneath two townhomes at the Sea Pines Resort on Hilton Head Island, about 150 to 200 yards from where he was last seen on video.
Kotowski was last seen leaving his family’s vacation home in the South Sea Pines Drive area around 10:30 a.m. local time on August 16. He was barefoot at the time and left without his cell phone or wallet. His wife, Jackie Kotowski, reported that her husband had been experiencing increasing anxiety and paranoia in the days leading up to his disappearance.
The discovery of Kotowski's body came after a security officer with the Sea Pines Resort noticed a foul odor and flies near one of the buildings and contacted the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office. The area where Kotowski was found is described as "very secluded," and Sheriff P.J. Tanner acknowledged that he understood how the area "could be overlooked."
Kotowski's death has been ruled a suicide, and authorities believe he died the same day he disappeared, although the exact time of his death remains undetermined. His body was found in the same clothing he was wearing when he disappeared.