Tragic Turn: California Surfer Fatally Targeted in Suspected Costa Rica Home Robbery

A well-known surfer from California met a tragic end in Costa Rica, allegedly becoming a victim of a violent home invasion over the weekend, as per various reports.

Kurt Van Dyke, aged 66, who had relocated to Costa Rica and ran a hotel in Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, was discovered dead in his apartment on Saturday, according to the Tico Times.

Initial investigations revealed that Van Dyke’s body bore evidence of suffocation and numerous stab injuries, the publication noted.

Originally from Santa Cruz, California, Van Dyke was in his apartment on Saturday morning when two armed intruders burst in, as detailed by the San Francisco Chronicle. The assailants then confined Van Dyke and his 31-year-old girlfriend, his apartment companion, to a room.

The news that 66-year-old Kurt Van Dyke was reportedly slain at his Costa Rican residence over the weekend was confirmed. (Facebook/ Kurt Van Dyke)

The girlfriend survived the ordeal and told authorities that the men had bound her hands and feet with zip ties and assaulted her, according to the report. At some point during the incident, Van Dyke was killed, she said.

The girlfriend also said the men stole some of the couple’s valuables, including a 2013 Hyundai Elantra.

Van Dyke was a prominent surfer in his native Santa Cruz, California, and in the surfing community in Costa Rica. (Facebook/ Kurt Van Dyke)

Security footage from the scene showed the two suspects fleeing the property in the Elantra and a second vehicle, the report said. 

No arrests have been made, and officials have yet to announce a motive.

Van Dyke’s brother, Peter Van Dyke, remembered his brother as a kind soul in a text message to the Chronicle.

“My brother was a very benevolent, giving person who would help just about anybody,” Peter Van Dyke said. “Kurt would never hurt anybody, and he was always there when you needed him. Everyone that he met knew this about him.” 

A tree is pictured on Punta Uva beach in Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, Costa Rica. (DEA / V. Giannella)

Officials in Costa Rica said that Van Dyke’s death shocked the community.

“I am deeply saddened,” Roger Sams, president of Costa Rica’s Southern Caribbean Chamber of Tourism and Commerce, told Costa Rican newspaper La Nación in Spanish. “We’ve had a long period of calm and tranquility.… This shocks and saddens us because the Caribbean has been so peaceful.”   

Van Dyke had developed a notable reputation among Santa Cruz’s surfing community before permanently settling in Costa Rica, where his skill surfing big waves earned him the moniker of “King” from the local surfing community, the Chronicle reported.