A well-known surfer from California was tragically killed in his home in Costa Rica after his girlfriend was tied up and robbed.
Kurt Van Dyke, 66, a hotel manager in Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, was discovered deceased on Saturday, with a sheet over his head and a knife beside him. Local news sources reported this.
His 31-year-old girlfriend, referred to only as Arroyo, was in the shower when two armed intruders entered their home and forced them into a room at gunpoint.
Arroyo recounted that the attackers bound her hands and feet with zip ties, assaulted her, and stole several items, including their 2013 Hyundai Elantra, before escaping.
The crime took place in an area generally considered safe, leading to considerable shock within the community.
“It’s very sad,” expressed Roger Sams, the president of Costa Rica’s Southern Caribbean Tourism Chamber of Commerce, in a local newspaper. He mentioned that the region had enjoyed a period of peace, and this incident was especially upsetting.
Van Dyke was recognized both locally in Costa Rica and back in California. He had owned a modest hotel in Puerto Viejo for many years and was esteemed as an exceptional surfer after moving there in the early ’80s for the powerful Salsa Brava waves, earning the nickname “King” along the Caribbean coast.
Surfing seemed to run in his family; his father, Gene Van Dyke, was an early pioneer of the sport in Northern California, while his mother, Betty, played a significant role in supporting female surfers during the ’50s and ’60s.
Additionally, the Van Dyke family is well-established in agriculture, managing the well-known Van Dyke Ranch near Gilroy, famous for its apricots and cherries sold at various farmers’ markets.
