A Massachusetts father, Stanley Kotowski, 60, was found dead on Monday during a family vacation to Hilton Head Island. Authorities have confirmed that he died by suicide.
Kotowski, who had been missing since August 16, was discovered hanging beneath a home near the rental property where his family was staying. Beaufort County Coroner David Ott revealed at a press conference that Kotowski took his own life during a mental health crisis.
We estimate he died on the day he went missing, Ott said.
While the police did not provide specific details, they mentioned that Kotowski used a device to cut off his oxygen. Coroner Ott emphasized that the situation was a case of asphyxiation, but clarified that it wasn’t the type of hanging typically imagined.
In the days leading up to his disappearance, Kotowski had been suffering from paranoia and had sought medical help both before and during the family trip.
Despite an extensive search using dogs, drones, and door-to-door canvassing, it took 11 days to find Kotowski. He had accessed a crawl space beneath a neighboring villa through a small hatch, which search teams had previously struggled to enter.
Kotowski’s body was eventually found near the Sea Pines rental where he and his family were staying.
His wife, Jackie, shared on Facebook that Kotowski had been battling severe insomnia and anxiety in the month before his death. She mentioned that he had become paranoid, believing that people, including authorities, were after him. During the vacation, he also became anxious about the ocean, worried about exposure to the sun, jellyfish, and sharks.
Ring camera footage from August 16 showed Kotowski leaving the rental barefoot and appearing confused as he walked down the street.