A Massachusetts man found dead under a Hilton Head, South Carolina, home Monday died by suicide, authorities said Tuesday, as they shared more information on how his body was discovered.
Stanley Kotowski's body was found in a crawlspace within 100 or 150 yards from where the 60-year-old was last seen alive, Beaufort County officials said Tuesday. He died of asphyxiation by hanging.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or chat live at 988lifeline.org. You can also visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional support.
Sheriff P.J. Tanner stressed that the situation was "very unusual," and that he understood why the dayslong search for Kotowski, whose family reported he was in the middle of a mental health crisis, didn't turn find him so close to the villa where he'd been staying with his wife and two family friends.
"To even consider that being an entry point for the crawlspace is something you would probably overlook," Tanner said.
Kotowski was last seen leaving the building on South Sea Pines Drive in a grey T-shirt and dark shorts, but no shoes on, on Aug. 16.
His body was eventually detected by a security officer for the Sea Pines community, who smelled something foul and saw flies but couldn't locate it, officials said. Searchers eventually found a hatch by a town home's outdoor shower that led to the small crawlspace where his body was found.
Authorities released few particular details around what led to Kotowski's death. Tanner didn't give an answer to a reporter's question on whether the man's death was intentional or accidental.
"There was an apparatus used to reduce the amount of oxygen you could actually take in," Tanner said.
Authorities noted the community was very cooperative in searching for Kotowski.
