Man found dead in Hilton Head is believed to be missing man

A Massachusetts man who had been missing for more than a week is believed to have been found dead underneath a home at the same resort in South Carolina where he was vacationing with his family, according to authorities.

Stanley Kotowski, 60, vanished Aug. 16 after he left the vacation rental property at Hilton Head Island where the family was staying. Law enforcement officers in Beaufort County, which includes the island, spent days searching the area for Kotowski, who was believed to be having a mental health crisis.

That search came to an end Monday when sheriff’s deputies called to a home for suspicious activity found the body of a man underneath the property, the agency said in an update on Facebook. The body was believed to be Kotowski’s, according to the sheriff’s office.

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Stanley Kotowski left vacation rental with no shoes, phone

Kotowski and his family, who are from Methuen, about 30 miles north of Boston, were vacationing at Hilton Head Island when he disappeared.

Kotowski was last seen on the morning of Aug. 16 leaving his family’s rental at the Sea Pines Resort. When Kotowski left, he was shoeless and without his phone and wallet, according to the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office.

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In home surveillance footage shared Saturday by the sheriff’s office, Kotowski doesn’t appear to be rushed or panicked as he calmly leaves the home. He can be seen in the footage walking barefoot to the street, where he pauses for a few moments before walking off camera.

His wife, Jackie Kotowski, said her husband had been struggling with anxiety, insomnia and paranoia.

“He thought someone was chasing him,” Jackie Kotowski told ABC Savannah, Georgia, affiliate WJCL.

The sheriff’s office deployed canines, drones, and helicopters to locate Kotowski, and firefighters helped to comb residential and wooded areas. But for days, the only signs of Kotowski came from sporadic recordings on neighbors’ home surveillance cameras.

Kotowski believed to be found dead underneath Sea Pines home

After sheriff’s deputies were called at 11:30 a.m. local time Monday to a home at the Sea Pines resort, “the body of a deceased male was located underneath a residence,” the sheriff’s office said.

The sheriff’s office said an autopsy would be performed.

Kotowski’s family confirmed to WJCL that the body was his and was found beneath a home four houses down from their rental unit.

Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at elagatta@gannett.com