Former Survivor: Gabon contestant Dan Kay dies 'unexpectedly' at 40

Former Survivor: Gabon contestant Dan Kay died "unexpectedly" on New Year's Eve. Photo / CBS

Former Survivor: Gabon contestant Dan Kay died "unexpectedly" on New Year's Eve at just 40 years of age.

Police said they were not treating the death as suspicious.

Kay, a lawyer from Massachusetts, lasted 21 days on his 2008 Survivor season before being voted off the island.

The show's longtime host Jeff Probst tweeted his condolences for the "sudden loss", writing, "The Survivor family sends our love to Dan's family."

Gabon's second runner-up Jessica "Sugar" Kiper took to Facebook to say her thoughts were with Kay's family.

According to Kay's obituary, he was "known for his hard work, dedication, attention to detail and strong work ethic.

I just heard the very sad news about the sudden loss of Dan Kay of Survivor: Gabon. The Survivor family sends our love to Dan's family.

— Jeff Probst (@JeffProbst) January 4, 2017

"In his free time, he enjoyed running, skiing, listening to music, and attending Crossway Christian Church. Dan had a smile that could light up a room. His desire to be challenged and his quest for adventure lead to his participation on the reality show, Survivor."

During the show, Kay described himself as an "athletic kid growing up."

Terribly sad news. Dan Kay from our Survivor Season 17 Gabon died unexpectedly on Dec 31st. You can send a message...

Posted by Gillian Larson on Tuesday, 3 January 2017

His obituary describes his hobbies as "running, skiing, listening to music, and attending Crossway Christian Church."

The devout Christian - who had a 'Carpe Diem' tattoo on his arm - was also a father of two young children, Reese Elizabeth and Jackson "Jax" Russell-Reid.