Costa Rican authorities have arrested the girlfriend of California surfing icon Kurt Van Dyke, several months after he was found dead in 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 vacation destination.
His girlfriend, 31-year-old Arroyo, whose full name has not been released, told investigators she had been in the shower when two armed men stormed their beachfront apartment and held the couple at gunpoint.
According to her account, the intruders killed Van Dyke, restrained her and escaped in a 2013 Hyundai Elantra stolen from the property.
Costa Rica’s Judicial Investigation Agency said this week that it had detained Arroyo and a 34-year-old man identified by the surname Gutiérrez on suspicion of involvement in Van Dyke’s killing. The arrests followed an operation in Roxana, Pococí, where officers searched three homes, according to Teletica.
Local news outlets released footage showing a man being escorted to a vehicle by several armed officers, his head covered by a sheet.
Reports following Van Dyke’s death said his body bore signs of asphyxiation and several stab wounds. A knife was found next to him.
After his death, 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,” he said. “Everyone that he met knew this about him.”
Local media released footage of a man being escorted to a vehicle by armed police officers with his head covered by a sheet
California surfing legend Kurt Van Dyke (pictured) was found dead in a beachfront apartment earlier this year
Van Dyke had owned the well-known Hotel Puerto Viejo for 40 years. Born into a prominent surfing family, he built his own reputation on the waves around Santa Cruz.
His father, Gene, was a trailblazer in the surfing world, 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, renowned for its powerful Salsa Brava waves.
He became known as “King” among the local watersports community after riding the area’s heavy, hollow swells, 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 region.
“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 Costa Rica’s homicides, SF First reported.
Sams told La Nación: “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.”
Costa Rican authorities have arrested two people in connection with Van Dyke’s death
Van Dyke, 66, owner of Hotel Puerto Viejo (pictured), was found dead beneath his bed with a sheet over his head
Limón province, home to Van Dyke’s apartment and hotel, accounts for 25 percent of homicides in Costa Rica (Pictured: the beach beside Van Dyke’s Hotel Puerto Viejo)
Friends and admirers of Van Dyke expressed their grief after news of the surfer’s unexpected death emerged.
Van Dyke’s cousin wrote: “Here’s a memorial post for Kurt Van Dyke. 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 stories that I will share with 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 the two people detained in connection with the investigation.
