Kurt Van Dyke, a former Santa Cruz surfing great who relocated to Costa Rica in the 1980s, was reportedly slain in his apartment on the Caribbean coast during a weekend robbery.
Courtesy of Van Dyke family
A longtime hotel owner in the popular Costa Rican surf town of Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, a fomer Santa Cruz surfing great, was found dead in his home after an apparent robbery Saturday.
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Longtime friends expressed shock and sadness over Kurt Van Dyke’s death during an apparent robbery.
Courtesy of Van Dyke family
Kurt Van Dyke’s family was prominent in the Santa Cruz surfing community and in Bay Area farming circles.
Courtesy of Van Dyke family
A Santa Cruz native from a prominent surfing family was believed to be slain in his home this weekend along Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast, according to several local news reports.
Kurt Van Dyke, a 66-year-old expatriate and longtime hotel owner in the popular Costa Rican surf town of Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, was found dead Saturday under a bed inside his apartment. According to the preliminary police report, he was asphyxiated and had several stab wounds. He also had a sheet over his head and a knife beside him.
“My brother was a very benevolent, giving person who would help just about anybody,” Kurt’s brother, Peter Van Dyke, told the Chronicle over text. “Kurt would never hurt anybody, and he was always there when you needed him. Everyone that he met knew this about him.”
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Early reports indicate that Kurt Van Dyke’s 31-year-old girlfriend, whose last name is Arroyo, was showering in their shared apartment Saturday morning when two armed men suddenly entered and held the couple in a room for several minutes. According to Arroyo, the intruders bound her hands and feet with zip ties, assaulted her and stole some of the couple’s valuables, including a 2013 Hyundai Elantra.
A longtime hotel owner in the popular Costa Rican surf town of Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, a fomer Santa Cruz surfing great, was found dead in his home after an apparent robbery Saturday.
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At some point during the chaos, she told authorities, Van Dyke was killed. Security footage later showed the suspected assailants fleeing the property in two vehicles, one of which was the Elantra. Van Dyke’s girlfriend survived the attack.
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News of the incident has sent shock waves through Costa Rica’s southern Limón province. Though drug trafficking and other organized crime have consistently put Limón’s homicide rate among that nation’s highest, most of the crime in tiny beach communities like Puerto Viejo tends to be minor offenses such as theft, pickpocketing and break-ins.
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“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’s local popularity has only intensified the story’s news coverage. In addition to owning and operating a budget-friendly Puerto Viejo hotel frequented by tourists for four decades, he was a well-regarded surfer in the area. Drawn to the southern Limón province in 1983 for its Hawaiian-style barrel swells known as Salsa Brava, or “Wild Sauce,” Van Dyke became known among the Caribbean coast’s surfing community as “King” for his mastery of big waves.
Kurt Van Dyke, a former Santa Cruz surfing great who relocated to Costa Rica in the 1980s, was reportedly slain in his apartment on the Caribbean coast during a weekend robbery.
Courtesy of Van Dyke family
In a recent interview with a Limón publication, he attributed his love for surfing to his family. His father, Gene, was among Northern California’s most famous surfing pioneers. His mother, Betty, was a trendsetter in her own right, helping show women in the 1950s and ’60s that the sport wasn’t just for men.
Gifted his first surfboard at age 7, Van Dyke developed a notable reputation among Santa Cruz’s surfing community before settling in Costa Rica permanently. In that interview with the Limón publication, he described the sport as both a “euphoria” and an “addiction.”
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As news of his death made its way stateside early Sunday, many of his longtime friends took to social media to express their heartbreak and share some of their favorite memories. One called Van Dyke the “Legend of Salsa.” Others thanked him for showing them the best surf spots in Costa Rica and introducing them to locals.
“We remember your spirit, your energy, and the light you brought into the lives around you,” Ronald Umana wrote on Facebook, under two photos of Van Dyke. “Some people leave footprints — you left waves.”
Kurt Van Dyke, a former Santa Cruz surfing great who relocated to Costa Rica in the 1980s, was reportedly asphyxiated and stabbed during a weekend robbery.
Courtesy of Van Dyke family
On top of being a surf family, the Van Dykes were prominent in Bay Area farming circles. For about six decades now, the family has run Van Dyke Ranch — a sprawling operation at the base of Gilroy’s Gavilan Mountains known for producing apricots and cherries, among other fresh fruit, sold at local farmers markets.
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“Kurt loved the ocean, our farm, animals and his family,” said Peter Van Dyke, who took over the ranch full time from Betty, who died in spring 2021 at age 88. “It’s a very sad time because of all the great memories we have growing up together, farming and surfing.”