A Massachusetts man who had been missing for more than a week is believed to have been found dead underneath a home at the same resort in South Carolina where he was vacationing with his family, according to authorities.
Stanley Kotowski, 60, abruptly vanished Aug. 16 when he left the vacation rental property at Hilton Head Island where the family was staying. Law enforcement in Beaufort County, where the island is located, spent days searching the area for Kotowski, who was believed to be undergoing a mental health crisis.
That search came to an end Monday when sheriff's deputies called to a home for suspicious activity found the body of a man underneath the property, the agency said in an update on Facebook. The body is believed to be that of Kotowski, according to the sheriff's office.
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Kotowski and his family, who are from Methuen, located about 30 miles north of Boston, were vacationing at Hilton Head Island when he disappeared.
Kotowski was last seen in person on the morning of Aug. 16 leaving his family’s vacation rental at the Sea Pines Resort. When Kotowski left, he was shoeless and without his phone and wallet, according to the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office.
In home surveillance footage shared Saturday by the sheriff's office, Kotowski doesn't appear to be rushed or panicked as he calmly leaves the home. He can be seen in the footage walking barefoot to the street, where he pauses for a few moments before walking off camera.
His wife Jackie Kotowski told media that her husband had been struggling with anxiety, insomnia and paranoia.
"He thought someone was chasing him," Jackie Kotowski told ABC Savannah, Georgia, affiliate WJCL.
The sheriff's office deployed canines, drones, and helicopters to locate Kotowski, while firefighters helped to comb residential and wooded areas. But for days, the only signs of Kotowski came from sporadic recordings on neighbors' home surveillance cameras.
Ten days after he went missing, Kotowski was believed to be found dead.
Sheriff's deputies were called at 11:30 a.m. local time Monday to a home at the Sea Pines resort for suspicious activity. While investigating, "the body of a deceased male was located underneath a residence," the sheriff's office said.
The body, which is believed to be Kotowski's, was recovered by 3:30 p.m. and will undergo an autopsy to determine how he died, according to the sheriff's office.
Kotowski's family, however, has confirmed to WJCL that the body is his and was found beneath a home four houses down from their rental unit.
Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected]
