LOS ANGELES -- Former BoyCrush Studios model Ryan Morrison has been found dead in Jacksonville, Fla., at the age of 20.
Morrison, whose real name is Robert Glenn Hucks, had been missing since Jan. 17. His body was found on Thursday, according to published reports.
Earlier today the Jacksonville Sheriff’s office announced it had arrested 34-year-old Jeremy Christian Pittman under suspicion of murder, FirstCoastNews.com reported.
BoyCrush director Andy Kay offered the studio's deepest condolences for Hucks, who also performed with the stage name Ryan Ray Gibson.
"One of our models who was with us and a great friend of the studio for years was recently murdered in Jacksonville, Florida," Kay said. "It's an incredibly sad situation and very sad news to us at Boycrush Studios. As he has no family that we know of. ... We've started a 'We Care' in order to raise a little money for his funeral. The goal isn't ridiculously high but we want to give him the rest this sweatheart deserves. I appreciate any and all donations and postings of the donation link. Thank you so much for your support."
To donate, click here.
According to FirstCoastNews, the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office held a news conference Friday in which it detailed the investigation that led to the arrest. Police reports say Hucks had been seen leaving the gay bar Club Metro in the Riverside neighborhood of Jacksonville on the night of Jan. 17.
His mother first reported him missing on Jan. 18 after not being able to get a hold of him, the story said. Authorities said that information eventually revealed Hucks had left Metro with Pittman, and that the two went to Pittman's apartment where they had an argument.
It was unclear what sparked the dispute, but evidence of foul play pointed to Pittman, who had been taken into police custody at post time.
Hucks grew up in metro Atlanta, according to a projectqatlanta.com report.
"Somewhere in between the suspect's and the vicitm's home, the suspect murdered the victim," Jacksonville Sheriff's Office spokesman Andy Brown told reporters at the news conference. "He later dumped the victim's body in a wooded area in Camden County, Ga."
Pittman is cooperating with investigators and was scheduled to appear in a Duval County, Fla., court on Friday, projectqatlanta.com reported.
