A fixture in the Costa Rica surfing community has been slain. U.S. citizen Kurt Van Dyke, 66, was found dead in his home, the victim of an apparent robbery. Van Dyke was best known as the proprietor of Puerto Viejo, a hotel popular among surfers.
According to NBC, the incident occurred Saturday in the town of Cahuita, on Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast just north of the border with Panama. Van Dyke’s body was found stuffed under a bed. He showed signs of strangulation and stab wounds.
According to the Judicial Investigation Agency, he was with his girlfriend when the intruders entered his residence. After attacking him, they made off with some valuables and a car belonging to the girlfriend, who escaped without serious injury.
Van Dyke was well known in the surfing community, both in Costa Rica and his hometown of Santa Cruz. Part of a surfing family, his mother, Betty Van Dyke, was among a pioneering group of early female surfers and his father Gene Van Dyke was also a well-known Northern California surfer. After moving to Costa Rica, Kurt owned Hotel Puerto Viejo, a business that catered to surfers and attracted guests from around the world.
