Cause of death announced for Massachusetts man found dead in South Carolina

In a press conference on Tuesday, authorities released new information about the disappearance and death of Stanley Kotowski.

Kotowski, of Methuen, disappeared on August 16 while vacationing with his family in South Carolina.

Beaumont County officials found a body they believed to be Kotowski on Aug. 26, Sheriff PJ Tanner confirmed during the conference. Coroner David Ott said an autopsy on Aug. 27 confirmed the body was Kotowski. He committed suicide, Ott said. He was 60 years old.

“This is obviously not the outcome we want,” said Lieutenant Eric Calendine of the Southern Enforcement Branch's Criminal Investigation Division during the conference. “But we have found closure for the family.”

Kotowski was last seen leaving his family's vacation home at Sea Pines, a resort in Hilton Head, South Carolina, authorities said. Ring camera footage shows him leaving the house and turning right, in the direction where authorities later found his body. According to Calendine, Kotowski's family said he was “paranoid” and going through a mental health crisis when he disappeared.

It took 10 days and a “large-scale” search to find Kotowski, Calendine said at the press conference. The search included a dog unit, drones, helicopters and door-to-door canvassers, Calendine said.

A Sea Pines security officer was searching the area on Aug. 26 when he smelled a foul odor, Calendine said. Ott said Kotowski's body was in a three-foot crawl space beneath the house.

“After having the opportunity to look at where Stanley was found and where his body was recovered, I fully understood why he was not found until evidence and clues pointed us in that direction,” Tanner said during the conference.

Tanner stressed that mental health must be taken seriously.

“The message from all this is that we need to pay more attention to mental illness,” he said during the conference.