A Vermont “hippie” living in a Costa Rican surf town was murdered — and cops suspect a much younger woman whom he met there might be involved.

Tom Cook, 62, a lifelong Vermonter and former electrician, had recently retired to Jaco and went missing in August, local station WCAX 3 reported.

After a grueling wait, Cook’s relatives got the news last Friday that his body had been identified.

“He was buried in shallow grave,” Cook’s sister, Sandra LaFrance, told the outlet.

Authorities are calling his death a murder — and LaFrance told the station they are investigating whether a young woman he had started a relationship with was involved.

“He was really trusting, and really trusted this girl,” the grieving sister said. “And we don’t exactly know the involvement of all of it, but she is a person of interest for sure.”

Cook initially was reported missing after his rental home was found completely empty back on Aug. 23, NBC 5 reported early this month. He had always kept in close contact with relatives back in Vermont, but suddenly stopped.

“Local authorities in Costa Rica, as well as the US Embassy are investigating, however, there’s no concrete proof or evidence that there’s foul play, so they’re treating it as a missing persons case, so it means that things are moving a lot slower,” Cook’s niece Samantha Eayrs told the station.

The Missing Americans Project has helped the family get answers — but the news is hard for the family to swallow.

“He didn’t deserve to die this way, not at all,” LaFrance told WCAX.

“He loved life,” Eayrs told the station. “He worked hard, he partied harder. And he loved jazz and reggae, which is why I call him my reggae hippie brother.”

Cook’s family is now working to raise awareness about the dangers of traveling abroad and the limitations of the US government to protect travelers.

They hope the government will launch a global rapid response network to help in cases like Cook’s.

“I just pray that we can help change that, so the next person doesn’t have to go through what we’ve gone through,” LaFrance told the station.