Marcus Hunt, a businessman and philanthropist from one of the city's most prominent families, died Tuesday morning in La Jolla, Calif.

The cause of death was not immediately known.

The San Diego Medical Examiner's office, through its public information office, recorded a brief statement. It stated that Hunt arrived at the family vacation home in La Jolla Monday.

"This morning when his wife was not able to contact him she requested a friend ... conduct a welfare check," stated the recording at the medical examiner's press office. Hunt was found dead on the scene, stated the recording.

"At this time that is the only information we will be releasing," stated the recording. A follow-up recording issued Wednesday afternoon stated that the cause of death may not be available for two to three months.

Marcus Hunt was the son of Woody Hunt, who is chairman and CEO of the Hunt family businesses, which are consolidated under the name of of Hunt Companies.

A spokeswoman for the Hunt Companies issued this statement: "We regret to inform you that Marcus Hunt died this morning. We have no further details at this time and we ask that you respect the family's privacy during this time."

City Council interrupted its meeting for a moment of silence Tuesday afternoon.

Marcus Hunt was named chairman of REDCO in February. [link]

From that news release:

"Hunt is a fourth generation El Pasoan. He is currently responsible for overseeing all financial investments for the Hunt family of companies, originally founded as Hunt Building Corporation in 1947. As managing partner of Hunt Holdings L.P., Mr. Hunt is an active venture capitalist and has served on the boards of several technology startups. Currently he serves on the board of RF Code, Inc and the strategic advisory board of Flywheel Ventures.

"He has been involved in economic development in the El Paso area serving as a past board member of the El Paso/Juarez World Trade Center and the Camino Real Angels, as well as a current member of the Paso del Norte Group.

"He is president of the Hunt Family Foundation, formerly known as the Cimarron Foundation, which has been supporting non-profit organizations for twenty years. He is also on the boards of the New Mexico Nature Conservancy, the El Paso County Historical Society, Project Arriba, the Trans-Pecos Regional Center for Innovation and Commercialization, and the Lydia Patterson Institute.

"Mr. Hunt graduated from St. Paul’s School in Concord, NH, St. John’s College in Santa Fe, NM and studied law at Golden Gate University in San Francisco, CA. He and his wife Stacey have two daughters."

The Hunt Family Foundation gave $500,000 toward the Medical Center of the Americas in August, 2007. [link]

Hunt described himself on his MySpace page, which shows the most recent activity as being in August, 2007, as "Married with two incredibly beautiful little girls, 3 yrs and 9 months. Living and working out in the far western corner of Texas, but spending plenty of time in the mountains of Colorado and the beaches of So. Cal. Still hitting shows, especially PANIC SHOWS, whenever I can get a babysitter....." He wrote that the three people he'd most like to meet are Phil Lesh, Warren Buffet, and Tony Blair.