Roy Raymond, who founded the Victoria's Secret retail chain, was found dead on Thursday in San Francisco Bay by the Coast Guard. He was 47.

His body was found near the Marin County shoreline, hours after he was seen walking toward the Golden Gate Bridge.

Dorothy Washington of the Marin County Coroner's Office said investigators had determined that Mr. Raymond killed himself.

He opened his first Victoria's Secret shop, which specialized in lingerie, 16 years ago in the Stanford Shopping Center with a $40,000 bank loan and $40,000 borrowed from relatives.