Beaufort Co. deputies confirm body found is man missing from Hilton Head Island

BEAUFORT, S.C. (WCSC) - Beaufort County investigators confirmed Tuesday morning a body found under a home is that of a Hilton Head Island man who was the subject of an 11-day search.

The body of Stanley Kotowski, 60, was discovered on Monday, Beaufort County Sheriff’s Lt. Eric Calendine said. A security officer of Sea Pines Resort, where Kotowski had last been seen on Aug. 16, was patrolling the area on Monday and smelled a foul odor from a home and spotted flies in the area, leading him to call the sheriff’s office.

Deputies responded and found Kotowski was found in a crawlspace under the home.

Coroner David Ott confirmed his identity during an autopsy Tuesday morning. He said the cause of death was asphyxiation and said foul play was not suspected in the death.

The home where he was found was just a few houses away from a rental property where Kotowski and his family had been staying, authorities said.

Ott said he believes Kotowski had been dead since roughly the day he disappeared.

Asked about how authorities did not find the body sooner, particularly since it was so close to the area from which he disappeared, Sheriff PJ Tanner said he initially had the same question.

“But once, once I had an opportunity to review where they were, Stanley was found, where the body was recovered, I completely understand how he was not found until there were some evidence or clues that led us in that in that direction,” Tanner said. “This is a very secluded area. It’s underneath townhomes.”

Tanner said the crawlspace was no more than three feet high with an entry point he called “very unique and very small.”

“And to even consider that being an entry point for the crawl space is something that would, you would probably overlook, because it just doesn’t make a lot of sense on how that would be the crawl space entry point. And then once you get underneath the building, that’s kind of a maze,” he said.

Authorities provided only limited details on the manner of death, labeling it a hanging.

“If there is a message in any of this, we have got to be more attentive to mental mental illness,” Sheriff PJ Tanner said.

EDITOR’S NOTE: If you or someone you know needs help, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988.

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