‘Survivor’ Alum Ralph Kiser Lost His Daughter in Accident Before His Own Sudden Death

Before he died at the age of 56 on Wednesday, April 20, Survivor alum Ralph Kiser suffered the tragic loss of his daughter. The Survivor: Redemption Island star’s obituary noted that Kiser was proceeded in death by his father, brother, and daughter, Sarah, who tragically died in a car accident in Virginia 10 years ago.

Sarah was only 21 at the time of her death, according to her obituary and as reported by The Sun. Although details of the accident are unclear, her obituary stated that she passed away from fatal injuries suffered in a car accident in Virginia nearly a decade ago. Sarah had been married for five years at the time of her death and left behind her husband and her two children. Further details were not provided.

Just years prior to her passing, Kiser competed on Survivor‘s 22nd season, Redemption Island. A farmer from Lebanon, Virginia, Kiser applied for Survivor multiple times before finally being cast as a member of the Zapatera tribe in the season that combined past contestants with new players. Although Kiser got a strong start to the competition, finding himself in a dominant six-person alliance, his game faltered when his alliance was outnumbered following the merge. His tribe was ultimately picked off one-by-one by an opposing tribe led by Survivor legend Boston Rob Mariano, and Kiser ultimately finished Survivor Season 22 in eighth place. He later told PEOPLE, “It was the time of my life. It was a dream come true for a man like me to be in Nicaragua and playing a game to be on television. What does that happen to anyone? Never, that’s when. I’d do it again over and over.”

News broke Thursday that Kiser suddenly passed away Wednesday morning at the age of 56 after suffering a heart attack. Kiser’s friend, Kimberly Hess, told The Sun that when she last saw the Survivor alum on Friday at his auction house, she could “tell something was bothering him… He was frustrated because numbers were messed up at the auction, but we helped him out.” She said she was “shocked” when she learned of his passing, which was confirmed by his nephew, George Kiser. George remembered his uncle as a “hardworking man, and a damn good hunter.”

News of Kiser’s passing prompted an outpouring of tributes from Survivor fans, with popular Survivor podcast host Mike Bloom writing on Twitter, “R.I.P. to one of the few lights in a very dark season, who provided 33 days of accidental idol finding, rooster crowing & more.” According to Kiser’s obituary, a funeral will be held for Kiser in Lebanon, Virginia on Sunday, April 24.