Case No. DHF-092 | Subject: Kurt Van Dyke, 66, a Santa Cruz surfing figure known as "King" who had lived in Costa Rica since the 1980s, was found dead at his home in Hone Creek, near Cahuita, on Saturday 14 February 2026; on Thursday 12 November 2026 Costa Rica's Judicial Investigation Agency arrested two people in connection with the killing | Date: Saturday 14 February 2026 (found dead); Thursday 12 November 2026 (two arrested) | Location: Hone Creek, near Cahuita, Talamanca, Limón province, Caribbean coast, Costa Rica; arrests in Roxana de Pococí, Limón province | Status: ARRESTED
Posted: 13 November 2026
Status stamp: ARRESTED
Why this file is stamped ARRESTED: The stamp records only the position as it stands on 13 November 2026. On Thursday 12 November 2026, Costa Rica's Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ) detained a 31-year-old woman and a 34-year-old man in connection with the killing of Kurt Van Dyke, who was found dead at his home in Hone Creek on Saturday 14 February 2026. As of the reporting relied on here, neither of the two people arrested has been formally charged, and neither has been convicted. An arrest is not a conviction, and an investigator's account is not a verdict. Both arrested people are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court. If charges are filed, if the investigation's account changes, or if any court decision changes the legal position, this file will be updated, dated, and re-stamped if the facts require it — never quietly rewritten.
Image note for readers: All images in this file are original illustrations created for Dark History Files. They are atmospheric artwork, not photographs and not real evidence. No image in this file depicts Kurt Van Dyke, any member of his family, either of the two people arrested, any investigator, or any real person, and no image depicts any killing, any injury, or any arrest.
Caption: Case card for DHF-092 — the killing of Kurt Van Dyke in Costa Rica. Status: ARRESTED.
THE FILE CARD
| Case File No. | DHF-092 |
| Subject | Kurt Van Dyke, 66, a Santa Cruz surfing figure known as "King" who had lived in Costa Rica since the 1980s, was found dead at his home in Hone Creek, near Cahuita, on Saturday 14 February 2026. On Thursday 12 November 2026, Costa Rica's Judicial Investigation Agency arrested two people in connection with the killing. |
| Date | Saturday 14 February 2026 (found dead); Thursday 12 November 2026 (two arrested). |
| Location | Hone Creek, near Cahuita, Talamanca, Limón province, Caribbean coast, Costa Rica. Arrests in Roxana de Pococí, Limón province. |
| Status | ARRESTED |
| Investigating authorities | Costa Rica's Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ). |
| Arrested persons | A 31-year-old woman identified by the surname Arroyo and a 34-year-old man identified by the surname Gutiérrez, detained on Thursday 12 November 2026 during raids on three homes in Roxana de Pococí. As of the reporting relied on here, neither has been formally charged, and neither has been convicted. Both are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court. The surnames are the only names Costa Rican authorities have released for the two people arrested. |
| One-line summary | A California surfing figure who had lived on Costa Rica's Caribbean coast since the 1980s was found dead in his home in February 2026, in what was first reported as a home invasion; nine months later, investigators arrested two people, including the woman who had reported surviving the attack, and said the killing had been planned. |
THE CASE
The King of Salsa Brava
Kurt Van Dyke grew up in Santa Cruz, California, in a family that helped shape Northern California surfing. His father, Gene Van Dyke, helped shape the region's surfing scene in the 1950s, and his mother, Betty, was among the early female competitive surfing champions. She died in 2021, at 88. Van Dyke and his brother Peter surfed for the experience of it rather than for competition, and the family name was rooted as much in farming as in surfing: the Van Dykes ran a ranch near Gilroy, known for the apricots and cherries it sold at local farmers markets.
In 1983, a friend, Garth Seagrave, introduced Van Dyke to the waves of Costa Rica's Caribbean coast, and Van Dyke moved there. He settled near Puerto Viejo de Talamanca and became a fixture at the Salsa Brava reef break, a powerful wave that earned him the nickname "King" among the surfers of the coast. He described surfing as both a euphoria and an addiction, and he built his life around it: he bought the hotel he had stayed in during a 1987 visit with Seagrave and renovated it over the years, running it as the Hotel Puerto Viejo, a place for travellers and surfers. He made road trips from California to Panama in a station wagon, and he stayed. By the time of his death he had lived in Costa Rica for more than four decades, and the people of his town knew him as a neighbour, not only as a surfing name.
His brother Peter remembered him as easygoing and generous, a benevolent person who would help almost anyone, and who loved the ocean, the family farm, animals and his family. A childhood friend, Dave Smith, described him as surfing's answer to Steve McQueen. Another friend, Seagrave, said he had packed five lifetimes into his time. The president of Costa Rica's Southern Caribbean Chamber of Tourism and Commerce said after the killing that the region had known a long period of calm, and that the death had deeply shaken it. That is the man this file is about: not a passing visitor to Costa Rica, but someone who had made a home there, and whose death was felt in two countries at once.
Saturday in Hone Creek
On Saturday 14 February 2026, Van Dyke, 66, was found dead at his home in Hone Creek, near Cahuita on Costa Rica's Caribbean coast. His body was found beneath a bed in the house. The Judicial Investigation Agency, the OIJ, received a report at about 10:50 a.m. local time, and the death was treated as a murder investigation from the start.
The first account of what had happened came from the woman who was in the house that morning. She was Van Dyke's girlfriend, 31 years old, identified in the reporting only by the surname Arroyo. She told police that two armed men had entered the home, forced the couple into a room at gunpoint, restrained her with zip ties, killed Van Dyke, and fled with valuables and her car, a 2013 Hyundai Elantra. She was found tied up but otherwise uninjured. The intruders, on her account, had ransacked the apartment before they left.
That account stood, in public at least, for nine months. No arrests were announced in the months that followed, and no motive was announced. Van Dyke's brother Peter, speaking to reporters in February, said he believed the killing was more than a random break-in. He said there were people in the area who did not like his brother, and that the two brothers had spoken weekly, with Kurt assuring him he had everything under control. The town where the killing happened was mostly considered safe, and the death sent shockwaves through the community on both sides of the border: in Santa Cruz, where the Van Dyke name had been part of surfing since the 1950s, and in Puerto Viejo, where Van Dyke had lived since the 1980s and become part of the town.
Thursday in Roxana de Pococí
The case changed on Thursday 12 November 2026, nine months after Van Dyke was found dead. Early that morning, the OIJ carried out raids on three homes in Roxana de Pococí, in Limón province, and detained two people: a 31-year-old woman identified by the surname Arroyo, and a 34-year-old man identified by the surname Gutiérrez. Police seized cellphones and another vehicle believed to be linked to the crime, according to SURFER's report of the operation. Two other alleged participants remain unidentified, and investigators are still looking for them.
Several outlets, citing Costa Rican authorities, identify the arrested woman as Van Dyke's girlfriend — the same woman who told police in February that she had been restrained with zip ties while two armed men killed Van Dyke. One report, however, notes that the authorities have not publicly confirmed that the woman arrested is the girlfriend who reported the attack, and have not specified how each arrested person is alleged to have been involved. This file therefore states the identification as the reporting gives it, and records the uncertainty alongside it: the OIJ has said two people were arrested, and the reporting identifies them as Arroyo and Gutiérrez, but the public record does not yet settle, in the authorities' own words, whether the arrested woman is the woman who gave the February account.
What is settled is the legal position. As of the reporting relied on here, neither of the two people arrested has been formally charged, and neither has been convicted. That is why this file is stamped ARRESTED and not CHARGED. The two are detained on suspicion, and the investigation is continuing. Peter Van Dyke told reporters on Thursday that the family was learning about the case through news reports, that he had not known the girlfriend, and that the family expected to have more information within the week, when his nephew visits. He said the family was glad the case had moved, while knowing it may not be over, because court cases were still to come.
What the investigators say now
The OIJ's deputy director, Vladimir Muñoz, told local media that investigators believe the attack was planned, and that the attackers wanted the PIN numbers for bank cards connected to Van Dyke's hotel, the Hotel Puerto Viejo. According to the investigators' account as reported, Arroyo helped the attackers enter the house, and Gutiérrez arrived with two other men. Investigators allege Van Dyke was beaten after the men failed to obtain the information they wanted. That last allegation comes from SURFER's report of the investigators' position alone, and this file records it as such.
The investigators also suspect that the reported car theft was staged. The Elantra that Arroyo said had been stolen in February was later found undamaged, and the investigators' account now treats the theft as part of the plan rather than as a separate robbery. Taken together, the new account is the opposite of the first one: not a home invasion that turned fatal, but a planned attack on a man in his own home, carried out with the help of someone who was inside it.
That account is, for now, the investigators' account. It has not been tested in court, no charges have been filed on it, and the reporting itself carries a caution: one account of the investigation says the authorities are examining several possible motives, not one. The PIN account is the one the OIJ's deputy director put on the record, and it is the fullest account any source relied on here gives. This file does not go beyond it, and it does not present it as established fact. What the investigators believe, and what a court finds, are two different things, and this file keeps them apart.
What is not known
For all the reporting since February, the most basic questions about the night in Hone Creek are still unanswered. The February account and the November account cannot both be true in full: either two armed strangers broke in and restrained Arroyo, or the attack was planned with help from inside the house. The investigation has chosen the second account, but it has not yet shown the public the evidence for it, and no court has heard it.
The legal questions are equally open. Neither arrested person has been charged, and it has not been reported what roles each is alleged to have played, or what evidence connects either of them to the killing. The two other alleged participants have not been identified. Whether the arrested woman is the same person who gave the February account has not been confirmed by the authorities in their own words. And the motive — whether it was the bank-card PINs, as the OIJ's deputy director said, or something else among the several possibilities the investigators are said to be examining — is not settled.
So the file stands where the OIJ left it on 12 November: a 66-year-old man dead in his home in February, two people arrested nine months later, two more still sought, and an investigation that has changed its own story without yet putting its new one before a court. What happens next depends on whether charges are filed, on what the prosecution puts before a court, and on whether the evidence supports the account the investigators now give. Until then, both arrested people are presumed innocent, the February account and the November account are both recorded here as accounts rather than as facts, and the question of what happened in that house on 14 February is a question for the investigation and the courts, not for this file.
Caption: Illustration of a quiet Caribbean coastal town at dusk — atmospheric artwork, not a photograph of any place in this case, and not evidence.
TIMELINE
- 1983 — Kurt Van Dyke moves from Santa Cruz, California, to Costa Rica after his friend Garth Seagrave introduces him to the waves of the Caribbean coast. — IBTimes Singapore, 13 November 2026 (read in full).
- 1987 — Van Dyke buys the hotel he had stayed in during a visit with Seagrave and renovates it over the years, running it as the Hotel Puerto Viejo in Puerto Viejo de Talamanca. — IBTimes Singapore, 13 November 2026 (read in full).
- 2021 — Betty Van Dyke, Van Dyke's mother and one of the early female competitive surfing champions, dies at 88. — IBTimes Singapore, 13 November 2026 (read in full); Los Angeles Times, 13 November 2026, via dnyuz.com (read in full).
- Saturday 14 February 2026, about 10:50 a.m. local time — The OIJ receives a report of a break-in and attack at Van Dyke's home in Hone Creek, near Cahuita. Van Dyke, 66, is found dead in the house, his body beneath a bed. The death is treated as a murder investigation. — SURFER, 13 November 2026 (read in full); New York Post, 12 November 2026 (read in full); IBTimes Singapore, 13 November 2026 (read in full); Los Angeles Times, 13 November 2026, via dnyuz.com (read in full); Times Now, 17 February 2026 (read in full, for the 10:50 a.m. report time).
- February 2026 — Arroyo, Van Dyke's 31-year-old girlfriend, tells police that two armed men entered the home, forced the couple into a room at gunpoint, restrained her with zip ties, killed Van Dyke, and fled with valuables and her 2013 Hyundai Elantra. She is found tied up but otherwise uninjured. No arrests are announced, and no motive is announced. — SURFER, 13 November 2026 (read in full); New York Post, 12 November 2026 (read in full); Los Angeles Times, 13 November 2026, via dnyuz.com (read in full); Times Now, 17 February 2026 (read in full).
- February 2026 — Peter Van Dyke, Van Dyke's brother, tells reporters he believes the killing was more than a random break-in, and that there were people in the area who did not like his brother. — New York Post, 12 November 2026 (read in full).
- Thursday 12 November 2026, early morning — The OIJ raids three homes in Roxana de Pococí, Limón province, and detains a 31-year-old woman identified by the surname Arroyo and a 34-year-old man identified by the surname Gutiérrez. Police seize cellphones and another vehicle believed to be linked to the crime, according to SURFER's report of the operation. Two other alleged participants remain unidentified and at large. — New York Post, 12 November 2026 (read in full, citing Teletica); SURFER, 13 November 2026 (read in full); IBTimes Singapore, 13 November 2026 (read in full); Los Angeles Times, 13 November 2026, via dnyuz.com (read in full).
- Thursday 12 November 2026 — OIJ deputy director Vladimir Muñoz tells local media that investigators believe the attackers wanted the PIN numbers for bank cards connected to Van Dyke's hotel, the Hotel Puerto Viejo, and that Arroyo helped the attackers enter the house while Gutiérrez arrived with two other men. — SURFER, 13 November 2026 (read in full); New York Post, 12 November 2026 (read in full); IBTimes Singapore, 13 November 2026 (read in full).
- Thursday 12 November 2026 — Peter Van Dyke tells reporters the family is learning about the case through news reports, that he did not know the girlfriend, and that the family expects more information within the week, when his nephew visits. — New York Post, 12 November 2026 (read in full).
- Friday 13 November 2026 — Reporting confirms that neither of the two people arrested has been formally charged, and that neither has been convicted. — SURFER, 13 November 2026 (read in full); IBTimes Singapore, 13 November 2026 (read in full).
EVIDENCE & LEADS
- The death (Saturday 14 February 2026): Kurt Van Dyke, 66, a Santa Cruz native who had lived in Costa Rica since the 1980s, was found dead at his home in Hone Creek, near Cahuita, Talamanca, on Costa Rica's Caribbean coast. His body was found beneath a bed in the house. The OIJ received a report at about 10:50 a.m. local time, and the death was treated as a murder investigation. — SURFER, 13 November 2026 (read in full); New York Post, 12 November 2026 (read in full); IBTimes Singapore, 13 November 2026 (read in full); Los Angeles Times, 13 November 2026, via dnyuz.com (read in full); Times Now, 17 February 2026 (read in full, for the 10:50 a.m. report time).
- The February account: Arroyo, Van Dyke's 31-year-old girlfriend, told police that two armed men entered the home, forced the couple into a room at gunpoint, restrained her with zip ties, killed Van Dyke, and fled with valuables and her 2013 Hyundai Elantra. She was found tied up but otherwise uninjured. The intruders, on her account, had ransacked the apartment. — SURFER, 13 November 2026 (read in full); New York Post, 12 November 2026 (read in full); Los Angeles Times, 13 November 2026, via dnyuz.com (read in full); Times Now, 17 February 2026 (read in full).
- The car: The 2013 Hyundai Elantra that Arroyo said had been stolen in February was later found undamaged. Investigators now suspect the reported theft was staged. — SURFER, 13 November 2026 (read in full); Los Angeles Times, 13 November 2026, via dnyuz.com (read in full, citing Diario Extra).
- The nine months without arrests: No arrests were announced between February and November 2026, and no motive was announced in that period. — Times Now, 17 February 2026 (read in full, no arrests and no motive as of 17 February); SURFER, 13 November 2026 (read in full, the November arrests described as a turn in the case nine months on).
- The brother's February view: Peter Van Dyke told reporters in February 2026 that he believed the killing was more than a random break-in, that there were people in the area who did not like his brother, and that the two brothers had spoken weekly, with Kurt assuring him he had everything under control. — New York Post, 12 November 2026 (read in full).
- The arrests (Thursday 12 November 2026): The OIJ raided three homes in Roxana de Pococí, Limón province, early in the morning, and detained a 31-year-old woman identified by the surname Arroyo and a 34-year-old man identified by the surname Gutiérrez. Police seized cellphones and another vehicle believed to be linked to the crime, according to SURFER's report of the operation. — New York Post, 12 November 2026 (read in full, citing Teletica); SURFER, 13 November 2026 (read in full); IBTimes Singapore, 13 November 2026 (read in full); Los Angeles Times, 13 November 2026, via dnyuz.com (read in full).
- Who the arrested woman is: Several outlets, citing Costa Rican authorities, identify the arrested woman as Van Dyke's girlfriend, the woman who told police in February that she had been restrained with zip ties while two armed men killed Van Dyke. One report notes that the authorities have not publicly confirmed that the woman arrested is the girlfriend who reported the attack. This file states the identification as the reporting gives it and records the uncertainty alongside it. — New York Post, 12 November 2026 (read in full, citing La Nación); SURFER, 13 November 2026 (read in full); Los Angeles Times, 13 November 2026, via dnyuz.com (read in full); Particle News, 12–13 November 2026 (read in full, for the unconfirmed identification).
- The investigators' new account: OIJ deputy director Vladimir Muñoz told local media that investigators believe the attackers wanted the PIN numbers for bank cards connected to Van Dyke's hotel, the Hotel Puerto Viejo, and that Arroyo helped the attackers enter the house while Gutiérrez arrived with two other men. This is the investigators' account, not a court finding, and the alleged motive is stated here only as the investigators' belief. — SURFER, 13 November 2026 (read in full); New York Post, 12 November 2026 (read in full); IBTimes Singapore, 13 November 2026 (read in full).
- The alleged beating: SURFER reports that investigators allege Van Dyke was beaten after the men failed to obtain the information they wanted. This allegation comes from SURFER's report of the investigators' position alone, and is labelled single-source in the fact log. — SURFER, 13 November 2026 (read in full).
- The motive is not settled: One account of the investigation says the authorities are examining several possible motives, not one. The PIN account is the one the OIJ's deputy director put on the record, and it is the fullest account any source relied on here gives. — Particle News, 12–13 November 2026 (read in full).
- Two more people sought: Two other alleged participants remain unidentified, and investigators are still looking for them. — SURFER, 13 November 2026 (read in full); Los Angeles Times, 13 November 2026, via dnyuz.com (read in full, citing Diario Extra).
- No charges yet: As of the reporting relied on here, neither of the two people arrested has been formally charged, and neither has been convicted. Both are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court. — SURFER, 13 November 2026 (read in full); IBTimes Singapore, 13 November 2026 (read in full).
- Van Dyke's life in Costa Rica: Raised in Santa Cruz by pioneering surfers Gene and Betty Van Dyke; moved to Costa Rica in 1983 after his friend Garth Seagrave introduced him to the Caribbean coast's waves; became a fixture at the Salsa Brava reef break and earned the nickname "King"; bought the hotel he had stayed in during a 1987 visit and renovated it as the Hotel Puerto Viejo; lived in Costa Rica for more than four decades. — IBTimes Singapore, 13 November 2026 (read in full); SURFER, 13 November 2026 (read in full); New York Post, 12 November 2026 (read in full).
- The family's position: Peter Van Dyke told reporters on Thursday 12 November 2026 that the family was learning about the case through news reports, that he did not know the girlfriend, and that the family expected more information within the week, when his nephew visits. He said the family was glad the case had moved, while knowing it may not be over, because court cases were still to come. — New York Post, 12 November 2026 (read in full).
- What is NOT evidence in this file: any claim that either arrested person has been charged or convicted (neither has, as of the reporting relied on here); any claim about what happened inside the house on 14 February beyond the two accounts recorded here (the February account and the investigators' November account); any motive stated as established fact (the PIN account is the investigators' belief, and one report says several possible motives are being examined); any claim that the arrested woman is certainly the woman who gave the February account (the authorities have not publicly confirmed it); any claim about the roles either arrested person is alleged to have played (not disclosed); any claim about who the two other alleged participants are (unidentified);
any graphic detail of the killing; any social-media theory about the case.
Caption: Illustration of a surf break at dawn — atmospheric artwork, not a photograph of any place in
this case, and not evidence.
STILL UNKNOWN
- Has either arrested person been formally charged? No, as of the reporting relied on here. Whether charges will be filed, and when, has not been announced.
- Is the arrested woman the same person who gave the February account? Several outlets identify her as Van Dyke's girlfriend, but the authorities have not publicly confirmed that the woman arrested is the girlfriend who reported the attack.
- What roles are the two arrested people alleged to have played? The authorities have not disclosed what roles either of them is alleged to have played.
- Who are the two other alleged participants? They remain unidentified, and investigators are still looking for them.
- What evidence supports the investigators' new account? The OIJ has not disclosed the evidence behind the November account, and no court has heard it.
- What happened inside the house on 14 February 2026? The February account and the November account cannot both be true in full. Which account the evidence supports has not been shown in public.
- What was the motive? The OIJ's deputy director said investigators believe the attackers wanted bank-card PINs linked to Van Dyke's hotel. One report says the authorities are examining several possible motives. The motive is not settled.
- What happens next for the family? Peter Van Dyke said the family expected more information within the week. No further statement from the family has been reported in any source relied on here.
What would change this file: if formal charges are filed against either arrested person; if the OIJ confirms whether the arrested woman is the woman who gave the February account, or what roles either arrested person is alleged to have played; if the two other alleged participants are identified or arrested; if the motive is confirmed in court or by a further official statement; or if any court decision changes the legal position, this file will be updated with the date, the source, and the new stamp if the facts require it — never quietly rewritten. Until then, the stamp stays ARRESTED.
WATCH THE FULL STORY
No companion video yet. If Dark History Files' sister channel Curiozoid publishes a video on this case, it will be linked here.
SOURCES
- SURFER, 13 November 2026 — "Kurt Van Dyke Murder: Girlfriend Arrested in Shocking Twist" (https://www.surfer.com/news/kurt-van-dyke-girlfriend-arrested-costa-rica): OIJ detained Arroyo, 31, and Gutiérrez, 34, on Thursday 12 November 2026; Van Dyke, 66, found dead on 14 February 2026 at a residence in Hone Creek, near Cahuita, his body beneath a bed; the February account (armed intruders, zip ties, valuables and a Hyundai Elantra taken); Muñoz on the PIN numbers for bank cards connected to the Hotel Puerto Viejo; Arroyo believed to have helped the attackers enter, Gutiérrez arrived with two other men; investigators allege Van Dyke was beaten after the men failed to obtain the information; the reported car theft suspected to have been staged, the vehicle later recovered undamaged; three properties raided, cellphones and another vehicle seized; two additional suspects at large; neither arrested person formally charged as of Thursday's reporting; Van Dyke's Santa Cruz family, the 1980s move, Salsa Brava and the "King" nickname. Read in full on 13 November 2026.
- New York Post, 12 November 2026 — "Massive breakthrough in case of legendary California surfer found butchered in his Costa Rica home" (https://nypost.com/2026/11/12/world-news/suspects-arrested-in-murder-of-california-surfer-in-costa-rica/): OIJ detained Arroyo, 31, and Gutiérrez, 34, during raids on three homes in Roxana de Pococí early Thursday, according to Teletica; La Nación identified Arroyo as the female suspect; Van Dyke, 66, a Santa Cruz native and longtime Costa Rica resident who owned a hotel there, found dead beneath a bed in his Cahuita home on 14 February; the February account (two armed men, zip ties, valuables taken); Peter Van Dyke's account (family learning through news reports, he did not know the girlfriend, the killing more than a random break-in, weekly calls, "he had everything under control", nephew visiting in a week); the Salsa Brava nickname, the hotel in Puerto Viejo, Gene and Betty Van Dyke, the Van Dyke Ranch near Gilroy. Read in full on 13 November 2026.
- Los Angeles Times, 13 November 2026, via dnyuz.com — "Surf legend's girlfriend said he was killed in a robbery. Authorities now suspect her of murder" (https://dnyuz.com/2026/11/13/surf-legends-girlfriend-said-he-was-killed-in-a-robbery-authorities-now-suspect-her-of-murder/): OIJ arrested Arroyo and Gutiérrez on suspicion of murder following an operation in Roxana, Pococí, during which it raided three homes, according to Teletica; Van Dyke found dead under a bed in his home in Hone Creek, Cahuita, Talamanca, on 14 February; the February account (confined in a single room by two armed men, Arroyo restrained with zip ties, her car, a 2013 Hyundai Elantra, reported stolen); the car later found undamaged, according to Diario Extra, which also reported investigators are still looking for two other men; Van Dyke, 66, a Santa Cruz native who owned a hostel in Puerto Viejo de Talamanca; Gene Van Dyke pioneered surfing in Northern California in the 1950s; Betty Van Dyke, who died in 2021 at 88, was one of the first female competitive surfing champions. Read in full on 13 November 2026.
- IBTimes Singapore, 13 November 2026 — "Who Was Kurt Van Dyke? Surf Legend's Ex-Girlfriend Arrested in Murder Probe After Body Found Under Bed" (https://www.ibtimes.sg/who-was-kurt-van-dyke-surf-legends-ex-girlfriend-arrested-murder-probe-after-body-found-under-bed-96207): Van Dyke, known as "King", moved from Santa Cruz in 1983, owned a hotel in Puerto Viejo de Talamanca; found dead beneath a bed at his home in Hone Creek, near Cahuita, on 14 February 2026; arrested on 12 November were his 31-year-old girlfriend, identified as Arroyo, and a 34-year-old man, Gutiérrez, on suspicion of involvement; investigators believe the attackers sought bank-card PINs linked to Van Dyke's hotel business and suspect Arroyo helped them enter his home; two other alleged participants remain unidentified; neither arrested person has been convicted; Gene Van Dyke and Betty Van Dyke (died 2021 at 88); the 1983 move after Garth Seagrave's introduction; the 1987 hotel purchase and renovation; Peter Van Dyke's account of his brother. Read in full on 13 November 2026.
- Times Now, 17 February 2026 — "Who Is Arroyo? Kurt Van Dyke's Girlfriend Survives Violent Break-In That Left Surf Legend Dead In Costa Rica" (https://www.timesnownews.com/world/us/us-news/kurt-van-dyke-girlfriend-arroyo-survives-violent-break-in-that-left-surfing-legend-dead-in-costa-rice-article-153624924/amp): authorities responded around 10:50 a.m. local time following a report of a break-in and attack; Arroyo told police she was showering when two armed men stormed in, forced the couple into a room at gunpoint, bound her hands and feet with zip ties, and assaulted her; she was later found tied up but otherwise uninjured; intruders ransacked the apartment and stole valuables, including a 2013 Hyundai Elantra; security footage reportedly showed the suspects fleeing in the Elantra and a second vehicle; no arrests had been made and no motive had been announced as of 17 February 2026; Van Dyke's father Gene a pioneer of the sport, his mother a trailblazer in the 1950s and 1960s; the "King" nickname; Roger Sams of the Southern Caribbean Chamber of Tourism and Commerce on the shock to the region; Peter Van Dyke on his brother. Read in full on 13 November 2026.
- Particle News, 12–13 November 2026 — "Costa Rica Arrests Two Suspects in Killing of Famed Surfer Kurt Van Dyke" (https://particle.news/story/costa-rica-arrests-two-suspects-in-killing-of-famed-surfer-kurt-van-dyke): OIJ carried out early-morning raids in Roxana de Pococí and arrested two people on Thursday 12 November 2026, a 31-year-old woman surnamed Arroyo and a 34-year-old man surnamed Gutiérrez; authorities have not publicly clarified whether the woman arrested is the girlfriend who reported the attack or specified how each suspect is alleged to have been involved, and investigators say they are examining several possible motives; Van Dyke ran a hotel in Puerto Viejo de Talamanca. Read in full on 13 November 2026.
- Social scan, 13 November 2026: news-vertical searches plus social.search (Instagram/Threads/Facebook, recency-ranked, since 12 November 2026) returned the Van Dyke arrests as the freshest trending true-crime story of the day — the New York Post report of 12 November 2026, the SURFER report of 13 November 2026, the Los Angeles Times report of 13 November 2026, and social posts from the San Francisco Chronicle, SFGATE, Lookout Santa Cruz and the California Post, all carrying the same OIJ account from the 12 November raids. No competing trending candidate qualified: the Cole Davison search in Needham, Massachusetts, is an active local missing-person case with no developments and facts too thin for a file; the Kylie Arellano rescue is already DHF-042 (a development, not a new file); the Koah Sharpe case is already DHF-078 and the Zachariah Schuck case is already DHF-067; the Bullhead City desert killing is already DHF-090; the Allan Bryant item concerns a 13-year-old disappearance and fails the latest-only rule; the William Barkley rescue is in Australia, outside this blog's US/UK/Canada scope; the Seoul 15-year-old murder is a child-victim case in Korea, outside scope and not tellable within the sensitivity locks; the Baranagar, Denzil April and Jan Mokonyane items are in India and South Africa, outside scope; the Berlin missing-woman item was already resolved when found; and the other items found in the scan were either already published or too thin for a file. The trending call for this pick rests on that news record plus that social record, stated honestly here. No claim in this file rests on a social-media post alone. No search-volume numbers are stated anywhere in the draft, because no tool returned any.
- No competitor article text or image is reproduced in this file. Facts are stated in Dark History Files' own words, with official material attributed to its source. No source beyond those listed above was relied on for facts in the draft. No search-volume numbers are stated, because no tool returned any.
Reader question: Nine months passed between the night in Hone Creek and the arrests in Roxana de Pococí — and the investigation's own story changed completely in that time. When a case takes that long to turn, what do you think keeps it alive in people's minds: the person who was lost, or the questions that were never answered?
RELATED FILES
Previous file: DHF-091 — Deep Ellum Halloween Shootings: Teen Charged — https://thedarkhistoryfiles.blogspot.com/2026/11/deep-ellum-halloween-shootings-teen-charged.html
Next file:DHF-093 — Tara Sinchuri Murder: One Arrested in New York
This file is based on public reporting and official statements available as of 13 November 2026. Read how every file is built on the About page (https://thedarkhistoryfiles.blogspot.com/p/about.html), or request a file via the Contact page (https://thedarkhistoryfiles.blogspot.com/p/contact.html).
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