Shocking cause of death revealed for loving father, 60, who vanished from Hilton Head vacation rental
A Boston man who disappeared during his family vacation due to insomnia committed suicide, authorities have confirmed.
Stanley Kotowski, 60, was last seen leaving his South Carolina apartment without his shoes and phone around 10:30 a.m. on Aug. 16. His body was found 10 days later under a townhome at the Sea Pines Resort on Hilton Head Island.
County Coroner David Ott told a news conference today that Kotowski died by hanging and called the incident a suicide.
His 59-year-old wife Jackie previously said that he increasingly suffered from lack of sleep and anxiety.
Sheriff PJ Tanner stressed today that the situation is “highly unusual”.
Stanley Kotowski, 60, was found dead near his family’s vacation home after he disappeared during a trip to South Carolina’s posh Hilton Head Island
At a press conference today, County Coroner David Ott revealed that the father died of asphyxiation by hanging and ruled the incident a suicide.
“If you even think about this being an access point to the crawl space, you would probably overlook it,” Tanner said.
He also told reporters that “a device was used to reduce the amount of oxygen you could breathe” when asked if his death was an accident or intentional.
The day her father disappeared, Jackie said her husband told her, “Promise me you’ll go on without me.”
“He just walked out the door,” she said earlier told Boston 25 Newsand added that she was already concerned about his mental state before he disappeared
“He had really bad insomnia for a month,” she said. “This is something completely new. He doesn’t have dementia.
But, Jackie said, “his anxiety just kept getting worse and worse, and he started getting a little paranoid. He thought someone was following him.”
The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office eventually expanded its search to include helicopters, boats, drones and dogs.
His wife Jackie said she was already concerned about his mental state before he disappeared.
The loving father pictured here with his wife Jackie and son Zak
Officials searched woods and vacant buildings, entered Kotowski’s information into a national missing persons database, and expanded their presence on the island.
His son Zak had previously revealed that it was possible his father was somewhere in the area while he was missing.
“He’s a strong person,” Zak said. “He’s athletic. He could, even in a state of ecstasy, without shoes, go past a couple of towns, especially in 72 hours.”
He was eventually found by a security officer at the Sea Pines Resort on Hilton Head Island, who contacted the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office after noticing a foul odor and flies near one of the buildings.