Costa Rican authorities have arrested the girlfriend of California surfing icon Kurt Van Dyke months after he was found dead inside his apartment in what was initially believed to be a fatal home invasion.
Van Dyke, 66, was discovered beneath his bed with a sheet covering his head in February in Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, a popular coastal destination.
His girlfriend, 31-year-old Arroyo, told investigators that she was taking a shower when two armed men entered their beachfront apartment and held the couple at gunpoint.
According to her account, the attackers killed Van Dyke, tied her up and escaped in a 2013 Hyundai Elantra stolen from the property.
Costa Rica’s Judicial Investigation Agency said this week that it had arrested Arroyo and a 34-year-old man identified by the last name Gutiérrez on suspicion of involvement in Van Dyke’s killing. The arrests followed an operation in Roxana, Pococí, where authorities searched three homes, according to Teletica.
Local news outlets released video showing a man being escorted to a vehicle by several armed officers, his head covered by a sheet.
Reports released after Van Dyke’s death said his body bore signs of asphyxiation and several stab wounds. A knife was found next to him.
After the killing, Van Dyke’s grieving brother, Peter Van Dyke, described him as “a very benevolent, giving person who would help just about anybody.”
“Kurt would never hurt anybody, and he was always there when you needed him,” Peter said. “Everyone that he met knew this about him.”
Local footage showed a man being escorted to a vehicle by armed police officers with his head covered by a sheet
California surfing legend Kurt Van Dyke was found dead in a beachfront apartment earlier this year
Van Dyke had owned the popular Hotel Puerto Viejo for four decades. He came from a prominent surfing family and built his own reputation on the waves around Santa Cruz.
His father, Gene, was an early force in the surfing community, while his mother, Betty, helped open the sport to women during the 1950s and 1960s.
In 1983, Van Dyke moved to Costa Rica and settled along the Caribbean coast, known for the powerful Salsa Brava surf break.
He became a respected figure in the watersports community by tackling the area’s powerful, hollow waves, earning the nickname “King,” according to the Chronicle.
Roger Sams, president of Costa Rica’s Southern Caribbean Chamber of Tourism and Commerce, told the Spanish-language newspaper La Nación that Van Dyke’s death had deeply affected the local community.
“We’ve had a long period of calm and tranquility. This shocks and saddens us because the Caribbean has been so peaceful,” Sams said.
Limón province, where Van Dyke’s apartment and hotel are located, accounts for 25 percent of homicides in Costa Rica, SF First reports.
Sams emphasized to La Nación that the killing was not connected to tourism. “This is an isolated case, it involves a hotel owner, not a tourist. It has nothing to do with tourists and the people who come to visit us,” he said.
Costa Rican authorities have detained two people in connection with Van Dyke’s death
Van Dyke, 66, who owned Hotel Puerto Viejo, was found beneath his bed with a sheet covering his head
Limón province, home to Van Dyke’s apartment and hotel, accounts for 25 percent of Costa Rica’s homicides; pictured is the beach beside Hotel Puerto Viejo
Friends and admirers expressed shock and grief following the unexpected death of the longtime surfer and hotel owner.
Van Dyke’s cousin wrote in a memorial post: “Most of you know he was my cousin, and in our early years Peter, Kurt and I were inseparable—surfing, school and most of life.”
“We were very close. This is in honor of him, with condolences and words to his immediate family and brothers, from generations past to the present day.”
Costa Rica’s Judicial Investigation Agency has not released the full names of either suspect.