One of the founders of the popular clothing line Salt Life has been charged in the shooting death of an 18-year-old woman whose body was found last week at an oceanside resort on Singer Island, Florida, near Riviera Beach.
Michael Troy Hutto, 54, was arrested without incident Friday after checking himself out of a Jacksonville hospital, where he was treated for an unknown medical emergency, USA Today reported citing the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and the Riviera Beach police.
The victim was identified as Lora Grace Duncan, killed by a single gunshot, according to reports.
Authorities have not said how Duncan and Hutto knew each other nor how they developed Hutto as a suspect in the woman’s death.
Investigators tracked the man’s whereabouts to Baptist Medical Center South through a tip from Riviera authorities, reports said.
Last week, police received an urgent call from Duncan’s parents to conduct a welfare check at Hilton Oceanfront resort, where the body was later found.
The Columbia County Sheriff’s Office reported that Duncan had “voluntarily left the county with a known individual.”
Hutto is locked up in the Duval County Jail on charges of manslaughter and possession of a firearm, according to multiple sources.
Reports say Hutto founded Salt Life in 2003 with several friends in Jacksonville, and the brand found instant success among boaters, fishermen and the beach crowd.
Salt Life’s official Facebook page posted a statement Saturday saying Hutto was no longer connected to the company after selling the business in 2013, reports said.
“Salt Life sends their utmost sympathies to the family and friends of the deceased,” the company statement said.
Hutto was the company’s first president, the Florida Times-Union reported.
Hutto reportedly trademarked “Salt Life” after first making it one of his regular phrases for years, according to a 2008 Florida Times-Union report.
The company’s abstract logo, scrawled like a signature, is widely recognizable and commonly appears on T-shirts, billboards and bumper stickers across America.
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