Police investigating a fatal beach stabbing at Coffs Harbour last week have appealed for help to locate a man who was seen riding a bicycle in the area.

It comes as surfer Kye Schaefer was identified as the victim who was attacked after emerging from the water in his wetsuit near the Coffs Harbour Surf Club on Thursday.

“This young athlete’s life was tragically cut short,” said a brief tribute to Schaefer on GoFundMe.

Schaefer was remembered as a “kind free-spirited soul” with a “big heart and a big smile”.

Caring and fun, he “lived life to the fullest”, wrote Heather Isubikalu Ngobi.

“He was a member of the Woolgoolga Soccer Club, and also previously the North Coast Futsal Club.

“He also represented our region in soccer at the Rep level.

“Kye will be profoundly missed by his family, friends and members of the community.”

Money was being raised to help Kye’s family deal with the tragedy and “so they know they are not alone during this difficult time”.

More than $23,000 had been raised on Tuesday of a $10,000 goal.

Homicide detectives are also seeking witnesses – or anyone who may have dashcam footage – in the vicinity of the Coffs Harbour Surf Club and the Orlando Street area at the time of the incident.

“As investigation continue, strike force detectives are appealing to identify a man riding a bicycle in the area at the time of the incident.”

Schaefer was allegedly stabbed minutes after he emerged from the waves and had significant injuries when found still beside his car near the Coffs Harbour Surf Life Saving Club about 6.40am on Thursday.

Paramedics treated him at the scene before taking him to hospital but he later died.

Coffs Harbour detectives are still hunting the killer, for whom a description has not been released.

Avenues of inquiry include whether the surfer came across someone breaking into his car and what, if any, relation a confrontation at a second beachside area on Thursday morning had to the homicide.

“We’ve identified some items of interest at a campsite around the jetty area,” Detective Chief Inspector Guy Flaherty told reporters on Thursday.

“This area may or may not be related, but at this point we’ve declared a crime scene.”

The park next to the surf club is a popular, picturesque spot for families with safe swimming in Coffs Creek that flows into the sea.

But the area has a dark side with a nearby illegal encampment and drug issues.

Local surfer Adam Cole said there were suggestions among the tight-knit surfing community the man could have stumbled across someone high on the drug ice trying to break into his car.

“Growing up here, the Park Beach area has always been a bit of a danger,” local surfer Adam Cole told AAP.

“There are few facilities for the homeless or rehabilitation centres in the Coffs area, so nowhere for them to go.”

The surfer’s uncle Ralph took to Sydney radio to pay tribute to his “lovely young” nephew.

“More than anything else, he just had a heart of gold, he really did,” he told 2GB on Friday.

“A gentle, caring nature was his greatest asset. We’re just broken.

“He was just coming back from the surf, stabbed eight times. What on earth is going on?”

Meanwhile, Queensland-style regulations that allow NSW officers to use metal-detecting wands without a warrant to search for knives will be pushed forward after a recent spate of high-profile stabbing attacks.

They included a massacre at Sydney’s Westfield Bondi Junction shopping centre in which six people were killed by a knife-wielding man in April.

-with AAP