Share
News

Beloved Father's Tragic Cause of Death Confirmed After He Disappeared from Hilton Head Vacation Rental

Share

Editor’s Note: Our readers responded strongly to this story when it originally ran; we’re reposting it here in case you missed it. 

A Boston-area man who disappeared on South Carolina’s Hilton Head Island on Aug. 16 was found dead.

The massive search for Stanley Kotowski ended after his body was found on Aug. 26 under a villa in the Sea Pines area of the island, not far from where his family had been vacationing at the time of his disappearance, according to The Island Packet.

Beaufort County coroner David Ott ruled the death a suicide.

”We estimate the day of death is the day he went missing,” Ott said, according to the New York Post.

The manner of death was “asphyxiation by hanging” Ott said, according to the Island Packet.

Ott said an “apparatus” was involved, but did not provide details.

“It’s definitely asphyxiation, but there’s no other word other than hanging. Unfortunately, people believe that hanging means you rope up to a ceiling and you drop. It’s definitely not like that. … It’s mainly cutting off the flow [of oxygen],” he said.

A security officer from Sea Pines found evidence that sent searchers to the villa where Kotowski’s body was found underneath.

Sheriff P.J. Tanner said Kotowski had suffered from paranoia before he disappeared and sought treatment both before and during his family’s vacation to the resort island.

The search involved multiple police agencies and included the use of dogs to track Kotowski, but they had found no trace of him after he left the villa his family was renting.

Sheriff Tanner said searchers initially tried to search in the area where Kotowski’s body was found but were unable to gain access.

Related:
Retired Judge Kills Himself During FBI Raid as Investigation for Bribery Takes Brutal Turn

They later discovered a hatch that provided a way to enter the space, he said.

During the search, Jackie Kotowski, Kotowski’s wife, said her husband suffered recently from insomnia.

“His anxiety just kept getting worse and worse and worse. And he started to get a little paranoid. He thought someone was chasing him,” Jackie Kotowski said, according to WFXV.

During the search, the couple’s son, Zak, had pleaded with his father to come home.

“And you’re not in trouble, Dad. Like, we love you. Yeah. Come home. We just want you home,” he said.

Truth and Accuracy

Submit a Correction →



We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.

Tags:
, , ,
Share
Jack Davis is a freelance writer who joined The Western Journal in July 2015 and chronicled the campaign that saw President Donald Trump elected. Since then, he has written extensively for The Western Journal on the Trump administration as well as foreign policy and military issues.
Jack Davis is a freelance writer who joined The Western Journal in July 2015 and chronicled the campaign that saw President Donald Trump elected. Since then, he has written extensively for The Western Journal on the Trump administration as well as foreign policy and military issues.
Jack can be reached at jackwritings1@gmail.com.
Location
New York City
Languages Spoken
English
Topics of Expertise
Politics, Foreign Policy, Military & Defense Issues




Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.

Conversation