ATLANTIC BEACH, Fla. – When he’s not walking along the sand, you might have caught Gus Fore surfing along the shoreline in his custom surfboard.
But the 19-year-old said on Sunday he put the board down in his usual spot to get a drink of water from his Atlantic Beach home, which is across the street.
“I came back expecting my board to be here, and it was gone,” Fore said.
In less than 10 minutes, Fore said, someone snagged his surfboard, which was no ordinary piece of equipment to Fore, who spent $600 to have it made with the colors of the American flag.
“It was made that because I was adopted from Guatemala when I was 11 months old and brought here to the United States,” he said.
To Fore, the board symbolizes his appreciation towards a country that not only accepted him, but allowed him to live the American Dream.
“I can’t tell you how thankful, how blessed and how fortunate I am to live here in this country," he said. "It symbolizes my American story in a way.”
Fore asked anyone with information about his stolen board to contact the Atlantic Beach Police Department.