The surfboard of Álvaro Durán Ribas has been found on Friday between 6 and 7 p.m, which was around the same time when Ribas went missing. It was found with a broken leash by a Nosara resident and delivered to the tourist police on Monday afternoon, April 25, 2011. Investigation about the time gap between the appearance of the board and its delivery to the tourist police still continues by the Judicial Investigation Organization.
Álvaro Durán Ribas, 36-year-old graphics designer from San Jóse Sabanilla went missing on Friday afternoon April 22, 2011, when he went out to surf at Guiones Beach. The last time he was seen by his wife, María Segura was around 6 p.m. at the beach.
The ground, the maritime and the aerial search that have started on early Saturday morning have been exposed to a logistics change after the delivery of his surfboard to the police station. As the board was found 300 meters from where the accident occurred near the north entrance of Guiones Beach, the concentration has been shifted toward this area.
On the fourth day, in addition to Red Cross, which is the main organization in charge of this rescue, an airplane from the US Air Force, a private helicopter, local pangas and fishing boats, a coast guard boat and police department (Fuerza Publica) continues to look for him. Ribas’ father, who is a flight instructor, also personally took part in the aerial search for his son.
The searches have been run in Beaches San Juanillo, Ostional, MonteZuma, Pelada, Garza, and Guiones. Margarita Durán, Alvaros's sister, informed that "everyday they (the rescue teams) go over the same areas."
Ribas was on vacation with his wife, María Segura and his two children, who are an 8-year-old boy and a 17-year-old girl. Since the incident, firstly Ribas’ mother and sister and later on, other family members and friends have been flooding in to Guiones Beach to be able to support the family. Margarita Durán, Alvaros's sister, commented that they also appreciate the support that comes from the locals and business at Guiones Beach. |
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Ribas' surfboard was found with a broken leash on Friday,
April 22, 2011 by a Nosara resident and delivered to the tourist
police on Monday, April 25, 2011. |
According to Ribas’ sister, Margarita Durán, he was a self-taught graphics and web designer, who also established his own business. Additionally, when he hired someone, he looked for not solely formal education, but talent. This way he helped many talented people who are willing to learn more. Margarita said “that’s why there are so many people who are looking for him and supporting him.
As the searches continue in the same intensity of the first few days, the hopes and prayers of the family and friends are still up for the young surfer.
False alarms. Over the weekend, some alerts coming from the public, regarding to found boards or bodies, prompted the rescue teams. However, all the alerts were false. Margarita Durán said that they appreciate the information and help coming from the community, but they want to make sure that the information they are getting is reliable and wouldn't cause anxiety and loss of time for the family.
How to help. The family has been renting a private helicopter from San Jóse and would like to find a local one from Nosara, to be able to save from the time that should be spent on the search, but none of the official organizations offered a helicopter within their rescue team. The family has started a bank account to be able to keep renting the helicopters. The donations can be made in colones to the account of N. ° 903669448 of BAC San José, under the name of "Grafika Design S. A.".
Since the incident, nearly 10 family members and friends have arrived to Playa Guiones to support the nuclear family. Margarita Durán commented that as the number of persons arriving to support them increases, it's been more difficult to find an accommodation and that they would appreciate any support in that regard, too. Please contact Nosara Red Cross at 2682-0175.
Ribas’s friends also started a facebook group to show their support and to communicate with each other. On the fourth day of the search, the group has more than 2, 000 members and keeps growing. |
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