South-Carolina
South Carolina police find body of Massachusetts man who vanished from Hilton Head family vacation ‘underneath a residence’
South Carolina authorities said on Monday that they believe they found missing Massachusetts man Stanley Kotowski’s body “beneath a residence” in the Sea Pines area of Hilton Head, South Carolina.
“At about 11:30 a.m., today, August 26, 2024, the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office was alerted to a home in Sea Pines in connection to suspicious activity. Throughout the course of the investigation, the body of a deceased male was located underneath a residence,” the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement posted to Facebook. “It is believed that the deceased male is 60-year-old Stanley Kotowski of Massachusetts. Mr. Kotowski was reported missing on August 16, 2024.”
The sheriff’s office added that his body “was recovered from underneath the home at about 3:30 p.m. this afternoon,” and the county coroner will conduct an autopsy on Tuesday.
Ring doorbell footage released over the weekend shows Kotowski leaving his family’s Hilton Head, South Carolina, rental residence on the same day he disappeared.
In the video released by the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office, Kotowski can be seen walking out the front door of the South Sea Pines Drive rental, barefoot, and out into the street on Aug. 16, the same day his family reported him missing.
Kotowski also appears to be confused in the video as he stops walking and looks around in the middle of the street before continuing on. He has not been seen since.
“We continue to ask for the public’s help locating missing and endangered 60-year-old Stanley Kotowski,” the sheriff’s office said in a Facebook post accompanying the new video. “He was last seen wearing a dark in color, possibly gray, Coors Light t-shirt, dark in color shorts, possibly dark blue or black, and no shoes.”
The Hilton Head community held an organized search for Kotowski on Monday afternoon in cooperation with the sheriff’s office.
His family asked Hilton Head-area residents who may have seen Kotowski to contact authorities and look through their security camera footage for any potential sightings of the missing man.
“Over the last month, he has been struggling with severe insomnia and has become increasingly anxious,” his wife Jackie wrote on Facebook. “During the week of Aug. 19, Stan became paranoid, thinking that people, including authorities, were pursuing him.”
The family added that the sheriff’s office had been very supportive and “are doing everything in their power to bring Stan home,” including conducting both land and water searches.
Authorities are asking anyone with information about Kotowski to contact the non-emergency dispatch line at 843-524-2777.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (FOX Carolina) – A new poll from The Trafalgar Group offers an early snapshot of the Republican primary field in South Carolina’s race for governor.
The survey of 1,089 likely Republican primary voters was conducted May 2 to May 5 and lists a 2.9 percentage-point margin of error.
Who leads
In the poll’s test ballot, Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette drew 25.2 percent support, followed by Attorney General Alan Wilson 23.1% percent.
The next tier included U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman 19.6 percent and U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace 15.2 percent.
The remaining candidates were Rom Reddy 10.1 percent, state Sen. Josh Kimbrell 4.2 percent and Jacqueline Dubose 2.7 percent.
What to know
Poll results can change quickly as campaigns ramp up, endorsements are made and more voters tune in.
The Trafalgar Group said the poll was conducted among likely GOP primary voters with a 95 percent confidence level.
What’s next
FOX Carolina will continue tracking new polling, endorsements and candidate announcements as the 2026 election cycle unfolds.
Feel more informed, prepared, and connected with FOX Carolina. For more free content like this, download our apps.
Copyright 2026 WHNS. All rights reserved.
South-Carolina
Former South Carolina QB Stephen Garcia diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer at 38 years old
A former college football star is now fighting cancer at 38 years old.
Stephen Garcia, a quarterback for four years at South Carolina, revealed on social media Wednesday that he was diagnosed with Stage 4 colorectal cancer.
A GoFundMe page, organized by his wife Maria that has already garnered nearly $100K in donations, said that after a trip to the emergency room and multiple imaging tests, Garcia was diagnosed with cancer and was set to begin chemotherapy. He is now on an “aggressive” track, and “he will be meeting with specialized liver and colon surgeons to determine the next steps in his treatment plan.”
Garcia took to Facebook to share the GoFundMe link and said he is confident he will be able to overcome the diagnosis.
“Wasn’t overly excited to share this news but it is what it is. We have a great team of doctors and staff that’s confident we can beat this! It’s the only option,” he wrote. “If there’s one lesson to be learned, get checked and don’t be afraid to visit the doctors office when you don’t feel 100%.”
He later thanked everyone for their support on his Instagram story.
Garcia had a prolific career with the Gamecocks, throwing for 7,597 yards and 49 touchdowns. In 2009, as a sophomore, he led the SEC with 239 completions before throwing a career-high 3,059 yards with 20 touchdowns during the next campaign, as South Carolina finished at No. 22 in the final poll of the season.
His 20 wins rank tied for third-most in program history. Garcia later spent time in the CFL, AFL and AAF after his college football days.
South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer said he is “praying” for the former QB.
“I talked to Stephen about an hour ago, actually, and he was in great spirits,” Beamer said Wednesday in Columbia, according to The State. “Then texting back and forth since we talked on the phone about an hour ago and told him to attack this thing with the same mindset that he’s attacked everything going back to when he was a player here and still is now as a human being.
“Told him I got his back, and we all have his back. Just praying hard for him right now.”
LEXINGTON COUNTY, S.C. (WACH) — A Virginia man has been arrested on charges related to the sexual exploitation of a minor, South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced on Wednesday.
On Sunday, Michael Mickels Jr., 18, of Fredericksburg, Virginia, was arrested.
Authorities charged Mickels with one count of criminal solicitation of a minor, a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison, and one count of first-degree sexual exploitation of a minor, a felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
The Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force investigated with the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department and the Virginia State Police.
Investigators said Mickels solicited a minor for sex and encouraged the making of child sexual abuse material.
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The South Carolina Attorney General’s Office will prosecute the case.
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