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3 weeks ago
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A beloved Massachusetts father has been found dead near his family's vacation property after he vanished while on a trip to the ritzy Hilton Head Island in South Carolina.
Stanley Kotowski, 60, of Boston, was last seen on August 16 at around 10.30am leaving a condo the family has paid for with friends, The Island Packet reports.
On Monday the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office received a call to the residence at around 11.30am.
They said they found Kotowski's body underneath the building and recovered him at around 3.30pm.
Kotowski was last seen 10 days earlier caught on camera shoeless and phoneless, making his family even more concerned as search efforts expanded across the island.
Stanley Kotowski (pictured center right), 60, has been found dead near his family's vacation property after he vanished while on a trip to the ritzy Hilton Head Island in South Carolina
Kotowski mysteriously disappeared while on a vacation on Hilton Head Island in South Carolina on August 16
'He just walked out the door,' Kotowski's wife, Jackie, told Boston 25 News, adding that she was already concerned about his mental state before he disappeared
'He had really bad insomnia for about a month,' she said. 'This is a brand new thing. He doesn't have dementia.
But, Jackie said, 'his anxiety just kept getting worse and worse, and he started to get a little paranoid. He thought someone was chasing him.'
She added that he started to believe Sea Pines was some sort of 'set up' and made multiple statements claiming people in the area were 'watching him', according to WJCL.
Before he left, Jackie said that her husband told her: 'Promise me you will go on without me'.
The Beaufort County Sheriff's Office eventually grew their search efforts to include helicopters, boats, drones and canines.
Officials were searching wood lines and unoccupied buildings and placed Kotowski's information on a national database for missing persons, as they increased their presence throughout the island.
His family said they feared he might be hiding in an empty residence or pool shed in the Sea Pines area.
He was caught on camera shoeless and phoneless, making his family even more concerned as search efforts expand across the island
Local authorities found Kotowski's body underneath the building and recovered him at around 3.30pm
His wife, Jackie, said she was already concerned about his mental state before he went missing
But, his son Zak, said he could be anywhere in the area.
'He's a strong person,' Zak said. 'He's athletic. He could, even in a delirious state, shoeless, he could get a few towns over, especially in 72 hours.'
They were hoping someone spotted him on their security camera and could help with the search.
The family has yet to publicly comment since Kotowski's body has been found but confirmed the death Monday afternoon.
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