![\"California](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/mfo32cq8kf9t0fff.jpg\")
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California surfing legend Kurt Van Dyke was killed during a violent home invasion in Costa Rica.<\/p>\n
Home invasion in Costa Rica <\/p>\n
The backstory:<\/p>\n
Police in Costa Rica\u2019s Lim\u00f3n province said intruders broke into Van Dyke\u2019s home Saturday, tied him and his girlfriend up and killed him. Authorities said valuables were taken.<\/p>\n
Authorities say Van Dyke, 66, was found dead under a bed with stab wounds and signs of asphyxiation. His girlfriend survived the attack.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“For all of us, it was a shock that that happened, and we\u2019re really sorry for the family and friends and everyone related to him,” said Roger Sans of the Southern Caribbean Chamber of Tourism and Commerce. “It\u2019s a really sad thing that happened, and it\u2019s really disturbing for all of us.”<\/p>\n
Santa Cruz surfing roots <\/p>\n
Local perspective:<\/p>\n
Speaking Monday at the family\u2019s farm in Gilroy, Peter Van Dyke said his middle brother, Kurt, was two years younger but they had been inseparable since childhood.<\/p>\n
“Kurt \u2014 he was always there for us. He always had this adventurous nature to him when it came to the ocean,” Peter Van Dyke said. “We spent a lot of time exploring the ocean north of Santa Cruz and south.”<\/p>\n
The Van Dyke family has deep surfing roots along the Santa Cruz coast, stretching back generations. As a boy, Kurt Van Dyke prioritized surfing above nearly everything else.<\/p>\n
“I\u2019d say, \u2018Hey, aren\u2019t you going to school?\u2019 And he\u2019d say, \u2018Nah, there\u2019s nobody surfing at the Hook, man, and it\u2019s four feet \u2014 it\u2019s perfect. I\u2019m going out,\u2019” said David Smith, a childhood friend. “I\u2019d see him more in the water than I\u2019d see him at school.”<\/p>\n
By the mid-1980s, Van Dyke had become a renowned Central Coast surfer. He later left California for the then-undeveloped coastline and tropical waters of Costa Rica. He eventually bought a hostel near Salsa Brava, started a family and made the country his home.<\/p>\n
“Anybody that\u2019s ever surfed \u2014 it\u2019s an addiction. Once you\u2019re in the water riding waves, there\u2019s no going back,” Peter Van Dyke said.<\/p>\n
“Basically, he was the king of Salsa Brava,” Smith added. “They would call him the king.”<\/p>\n
Family in shock <\/p>\n
What they’re saying:<\/p>\n
For a family that built its life around the ocean before moving inland to Gilroy to run a farm, the loss has been devastating.<\/p>\n
“Everybody\u2019s still in shock,” Peter Van Dyke said. “There have been tears, conversations, reflections, memories. I think we\u2019re all going through that process everybody goes through when somebody close to them passes.”<\/p>\n
Kurt Van Dyke is survived by his three children: Salvador, 23; Lulu, 21; and Jacob, 7.<\/p>\n
The family has not yet announced plans for a funeral in Costa Rica or memorial services in Santa Cruz or the South Bay.<\/p>\n
The Source: This story was written based on information from loved ones of Kurt Van Dyke and the Southern Caribbean Chamber of Tourism and Commerce.<\/p>\n
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