Costa Rican authorities investigate killing of a US citizen in an apparent robbery

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (AP) — Costa Rican authorities said Monday they were investigating the killing of a U.S. citizen in an apparent robbery.

Kurt Van Dyke, a 66-year-old Costa Rica resident and local hotel owner in Puerto Viejo on the country’s Caribbean coast, was killed Saturday, according to the Judicial Investigation Agency.

His body showed signs of strangulation and stab wounds and was undergoing an autopsy, the statement said. Two men armed with at least one gun had threatened Van Dyke and a woman, stolen objects from the home and apparently a vehicle, authorities said. The woman escaped without serious injuries.

Van Dyke was part of a well-known California surfing family. A 2021 obituary of his mother Betty Van Dyke said that she was part of a pioneering group of early female surfers and her first husband Gene Van Dyke was also a well-known northern California surfer.