Erik Kirby: Erik Kirby is in the 12-13 age range. According to what I've seen and read he has had an interest in dinosaurs for a long time. His parents are seperated and he lives with his mom, who is more like him than his safety first father.
His mother's boyfriend, Ben Hildebrande, is loaded from what I understand and used his money to go out on the Dino-Saur para-sailing tour with Erik. Erik, kind of the risk taker and a bit of a trouble maker (I am going on the "remember what it was like to try and ground him?" line), was ecstatic about seeing dinosaurs and having what could he considered a real adventure. However, just after Erik and Ben went up in the air something happened on the boat that was towing them and the men aboard were killed. Presumably the spinosaurus is responsible for this turn of events. To avoid crashing into the rocks, Ben cut them loose from the boat and the two landed on the island.
After they crashed Ben was killed, this much is known. I've heard that he was injured on the way down and that he was killed by raptors. Either way Erik was left alone on the island to fend for himself for two months before his parents came to the island, determined to find him.
