Chattanooga real estate agent Mark Hite, one of the city's top-selling agents and a supporter of several community nonprofits, was found dead Tuesday in Key West, Florida, according to police. He was 58.
Key West police responded to a request for a welfare check around 2 p.m. Tuesday on the 400 block of Emma Street, where Hite was pronounced dead at the scene and transported to the medical examiner, according to a police spokesperson.
"At this point, there is no evidence of foul play, pending the autopsy report," Key West police spokesperson Alyson Crean said in an email.
Monroe County, Florida, property records show Hite owned a condo on Emma Street. He had been vacationing in Key West, colleagues said.
Hite, who grew up in Kevil, Kentucky, worked in the Chattanooga real estate market for nearly 22 years, building a team of more than two dozen agents who worked for 13 years with Keller William Realty before the Mark Hite team joined the Chattanooga Real Estate Partners firm in 2020.
Hite billed himself as "the local Mark" and was active in a variety of nonprofit groups in Chattanooga, serving twice as president of the Greater Chattanooga Realtors as well as serving as a board member for Chambliss Center for Children, CHI Memorial Foundation, Cempa Community Care, Habitat for Humanity of Greater Chattanooga and The Launch Pad. Hite contributed more than $200,000 annually to local nonprofits, according to his website.
"He was an amazingly generous and caring man, and he will be missed not only by the real estate community but by many others in Chattanooga because he has done so much," Darlene Brown, a founder and the managing partner for Real Estate Partners, said in a telephone interview Wednesday.
Eric Tidmore, who worked with Hite for 12 years and often vacationed with him in Key West, flew Tuesday to Key West to help with the funeral arrangements, which are still pending.
"Both professionally and personally, Mark put others before himself and he always wanted to give back what he could to this community," Tidmore said in a phone interview.
Mayor Tim Kelly issued a statement about Hite on social media.
"Mark's larger-than-life personality and dedication to building up our community has left Chattanooga a better place," the mayor said. "He leaves a great legacy of service for us all to emulate, and we will miss him dearly."
Staff writer Ellen Gerst contributed to this report.
Contact Dave Flessner at dflessner@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6340.
Staff photo / Mark Hite, then with with Keller Williams Realty, is seen at their offices Dec. 6, 2016, in Chattanooga.