A California surfing icon was brutally killed while his girlfriend was bound and robbed during a terrifying home invasion in Costa Rica.
Kurt Van Dyke a well-known figure in both Costa Rica and California, was discovered under his bed on Saturday, a sheet over his head and a knife nearby, according to local reports.
His 31-year-old girlfriend, identified only as Arroyo, told police the attack began while she was in the shower.
Two armed men stormed into the couple’s Puerto Viejo de Talamanca home, forcing them into a room at gunpoint.
Arroyo said the intruders tied her hands and feet, assaulted her, and stole valuables, including the couple’s car before fleeing.
According to Mirror US, Van Dyke was a familiar face in the surfing community. He ran a modest hotel in Puerto Viejo for decades and earned a reputation as a standout surfer after arriving in the early 1980s.
The 66-year-old earned the nickname ‘King’ along the Caribbean coast.
His father, Gene Van Dyke, was a Northern California surf pioneer, and his mother, Betty, helped blaze the trail for women surfers in the 1950s and ’60s.
The Van Dyke family also had deep roots in agriculture, operating the Van Dyke Ranch near Gilroy, California, known for its apricots and cherries sold at local farmers’ markets.
