South Carolina authorities on Tuesday released the cause of death for Stanley Kotowski, a Massachusetts man who disappeared from a family vacation in Hilton Head on Aug. 16.
Kotowski, 60, was apparently suffering from insomnia and anxiety when he left his family's vacation home in Hilton Head and walked away on the morning of August 16. He was missing for 10 days before he was found dead. Beaufort County Sheriff's Office Her remains were located beneath a Sea Pines residence on August 26.
Authorities later identified the deceased as Kotowski, and Beaufort County Coroner David Ott on Tuesday ruled the cause of death as asphyxiation by hanging and the manner of death as suicide.
“On the day of the incident that he was located, Sea Pine security, along with the sheriff's office, were doing their daily work in the area. The Sea Pine security officer walked around the neighborhood… again, and smelled something that was a foul odor, and then saw that there were some flies in the area, and contacted the sheriff's office,” Lt. Eric Calendine said during a news conference Tuesday night.
MASSACHUSETTS MAN'S MYSTERIOUS DEATH DURING FAMILY VACATION AT HILTON HEAD SHOCKS FAMILY: 'AN UNIMAGINABLE LOSS'
Kotowski was wearing a Coors Light shirt, dark gray shorts and no shoes when he left the area, according to the sheriff's office. (Facebook)
Authorities searched around the building and “it was not easy to find” a place with access to the space under the house.
“We ended up finding a hatch near the outdoor shower on the deck, we removed the hatch, the officer went down, got the flashlight and didn't see anything, he had to crawl through the crawl space to finally locate the body,” Calendine explained.
SOUTH CAROLINA POLICE FIND BODY OF MASSACHUSETTS MAN WHO DISAPPEARED DURING FAMILY VACATION AT HILTON HEAD
Ring doorbell footage released over the weekend shows Kotowski leaving her family's rented residence in Hilton Head, South Carolina, the same day she disappeared.
In the video released by the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office, Kotowski can be seen walking barefoot out of the front door of the South Sea Pines Drive rental apartment. Kotowski also appears confused in the video as he stops and looks around in the middle of the street before continuing on.
MASSACHUSETTS MAN MISSING IN SOUTH CAROLINA AFTER DISAPPEARING FROM HILTON HEAD VACATION
The Beaufort County Sheriff's Office found the body of Stanley Kotowski. (Beaufort County Sheriff)
Kotowski's wife, Jackie Kotowski, said local news outlet WJCL that “[h]We just walked out the door.”
“He had very bad insomnia for a month. He doesn't have dementia. His anxiety was getting worse and worse and he started to become a little paranoid,” she said.
A BCSO report obtained by WJCL says Jackie told deputies her husband “believes Sea Pines is a 'trap' and that he has a conspiracy to get people here to try to get him. She stated that Stanley has made several statements about people at this location 'keeping an eye on him.'”
Stanley Kotowski died by suicide, authorities said. (Facebook)
Before Stanley dropped off the rental vehicle, he apparently told Jackie, “Promise me you'll go on without me,” the report said.
“It is with deep sadness that I 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. Our hearts are heavy as we begin to process this unimaginable loss.”
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He thanked “all those who offered their support, shared information and helped in the search efforts.”
Beaufort County officials said during Tuesday's news conference that the entire community helped with the search efforts. Even out-of-state property owners called Hilton Head officials to allow them to search their residences for signs of Kotowski.
