RODEO BEACH — Surfer Dan Dafoe of San Rafael, by all accounts the kahuna of Rodeo Beach, vanished in a place he loved doing what he liked to do most.

Dafoe, found unconscious in rough water off the beach, slipped away from friends trying to pull him to safety Wednesday evening as a big comber crashed over them. He disappeared in the sea.

A search for him by two dozen rescue and fire personnel as well as a Coast Guard helicopter was fruitless Wednesday evening and Thursday, and he was presumed dead in the waters that had been his life’s blood for years. The Golden Gate National Recreation Area said late Thursday afternoon, “The search is concluded. A very thorough 24-hour search did not result in any sign of Dan Dafoe. Our condolences go to his family and friends.”

In a 2008 interview at Rodeo Beach, Dafoe said, “There’s nothing like being here when it’s good. It’s a place you surf for half your life or more with your friends, who are your family,” he said. “I never think about it now as such a harsh thing, you know, the cold or any of that. It’s just a matter of if the waves are good.”

Memories of the good days, when the waves were right and the surfers were stoked, drew him back again and again. “This place has a lot of them (memories) for me and that’s probably the most special thing about it,” Dafoe reflected.

The 40-year-old Dafoe, who grew up in Hawaii and Napa, was a contractor whose crew, All Phase Construction, did remodeling and other construction jobs around the region. When not surfing, an almost daily enterprise, Dafoe performed as singer and guitarist for the Atomic Machine, a punk rock band.

“I met Dan about 14 years ago when I first began surfing Cronkhite,” property manager Matt Prandi Borries of San Rafael said. “He took many of us under his wing and taught us surfers about respect in and out of the water,” he said.

“He had a ferocious surf style and the kindest heart,” Borries added. “He was one of the core members of Marin’s surf community and was either like a brother or uncle to all of us.”

Another friend, Tyrone Brendel, of Bolinas, told acquaintances the situation was hard to believe and that he was holding out hope Dafoe might be found alive.

“Found or not we will know Dafoe passed at one of his favorite places on Earth,” he said in an email. “He was such a good dude, always stoked to see me at Cron and giving me positive words of encouragement. … It was rare to show up in the lot at Cron and not see Dan or his truck,” Brendel added. “Dafoe you will be missed by many and remembered by all. Thank you for showing me how to surf in a lineup with respect and teaching me to always be passionate about life in general.”

Cody Enger, manager of the Proof Lab Surf Shop in Tam Valley, said Dafoe was a man for all seasons who was skilled at many things, from music to construction, but at his best on the water at Rodeo Beach.

“He was one of those guys you were always happy to see, and he was always happy to see you,” Enger said. Erica Dafoe, his wife, described her husband in brief remarks as “hard working, honest, loyal, a man of his word, funny, quick to forgive, a man who loved animals.” Especially Maggie, the dog who often accompanied him on surfing excursions.

Erica Dafoe, who noted the two had been married for eight years, added she was at a loss to explain why Dan, an expert swimmer as well as a surfer so skilled he was sponsored by several surf product firms, would end up unconscious in the water.

Back in 2008, the last thing on Dan Dafoe’s mind was perishing in the place that made him feel so alive.

“Surfing makes me a better, happier person,” he said. “It’s my quiet time, my release. Life is about living. What better way to live it than be a surfer?”