By: Shayla Terry

A man was found dead of a heart attack in his vehicle in the Dry Creek Campground on Friday morning, according to Crenshaw County Sheriff Mickey Powell.

John Michael Ra, age unknown, was a native of Great Britain. He pulled into Crenshaw County on his camper on Thursday evening, and asked the owner, David Coggins if he could utilize the grounds

“He came about 9:30 p.m. and asked if he could park his camper there for the night,” Coggins said. “He was by himself, very quiet, but very polite. He paid and we went down there and got him parked.”

Ra commented to Coggins that he would only be staying for one night, and had plans to leave early the next morning.

“He was just traveling through,” Powell said. “He did a lot of flea market circuits with his camper.”

Originally a general contractor in Key West, Ra’s home was foreclosed. From there, Ra built his own camper that was mounted in the bed of his pickup truck.

“He actually lived out of it,” Powell said. “He had a travel trailer he pulled behind that pickup that was full of stuff that he sold at flea markets.”

Powell spoke with Ra’s girlfriend, who says that he complained to her about not feeling well. He was spotted around his truck at about 7 a.m. Friday morning preparing to leave the park.

“The owner of the campground knew he was going to be leaving early that morning, so he went down to check on him.” Powell said. “When he found him, the truck was running and he had his seatbelt on and we think he died of a heart attack. He was really close to being out on the road; he just knew he didn’t feel good.”

In July 2016, Ra and his camper were profiled for Truck Camper Magazine. Per the article, he states that he had no family in the U.S. All of his family still resides in Great Britain.