Two foreign visitors who came to Costa Rica to enjoy the beaches of Guanacaste abruptly ended their vacations with their unexpected demises. One tourist drowned in Playa Zapotal while the other was shot and killed in Playa Brasilito. These unfortunate losses took place right at the beginning of the high tourist season, a time when Guanacaste’s seasonal population increases considerably.

The death of United States citizen Stephen Rutkiewicz has been reported by news media outlets in Costa Rica and Albany County, New York. Some of the details surrounding this cold-blooded murder differ from one publication to another; for example, one publication claims that Rutkiewicz was shot in his rental car parked outside of Kokomo Bar in Playa Brasilito while another reports that the scene of the crime was a bar named Don Brasilito.

Two women had been enjoying a night out with Rutkiewicz before he was killed by masked gunmen. One woman was in the passenger seat at the time of the shooting; national newspaper La Nacion reported that she is an escort who suffered injuries from broken glass. News daily Diario Extra interviewed an officer from the local Tourism Police detachment who responded to the call:

“In the beginning, the name of a different bar was given. We arrived on scene and found nothing, so we searched the perimeter and found the victim here (at Don Brasilito). At this time we don’t know the motive behind the shooting.”

Rutkiewicz was 52 years old and apparently stayed in Playa Potrero with a relative whenever he visited Costa Rica, which was a couple of times a year. He was driving a gray Nissan Tilda compact rental registered to an agency located in La Uruca, just outside downtown San Jose. Red Cross paramedics arrived after the police, but there was nothing they could do. Nothing was stolen. Investigators from Santa Cruz determined that he was shot once or twice in the head; they picked up six casings from the scene and are now looking for possible motives.

The death of Rutkiewicz is also being discussed in an online forum dedicated to recovery from substance abuse.

Drowning at Playa Zapotal

Also reported by Diario Extra this past weekend: A 79-year old tourist was dragged out to sea by a wave that deposited him in a dangerous rip current. He was enjoying the beach with family members who were unable to help him when the killer wave arrived. Red Cross rescuers were notified, but another wave returned him to the beach in a moribund state.

Fellow tourists performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the victim before the Red Cross arrived; alas, he could not hang on to life any longer. An autopsy has been ordered.

As the expat and seasonal population of Guanacaste continues to grow, news media reports on the deaths of foreigners are increasing as well. Earlier this year, the Costa Rica Star reported on the shocking suicide of a visitor from the U.S. who threw himself under a bus near Playas del Coco. In Playa Flamingo, a pizza restaurant owner was reported missing and later found in the ocean under mysterious circumstances.