At first they thought he was joking, but then he fell off his chair and crawled under a car. They tried to restrain him, but he started running into the nearby bushland.
Instagram footage posted by the British camper shows him driving along the Great Ocean Rd before reaching the Twelve Apostles on Friday.
In his video, King pointed to a Parks Victoria sign, which warns of unstable cliffs and snakes.
The area, covered with thick vegetation, rocky clifftops and deep coastal waters, is known to contain a large population of deadly tiger snakes.
King, an illustrator from Brighton in England's south, relocated to Australia just two weeks ago.
The search was expanded yesterday to include waterways and all areas within a 4km radius of the campsite.
This afternoon, Victoria Police released a statement saying officers had found the body of a man following the search for missing tourist Aslan King in the Princetown area.
"Officers are yet to formally identify the body; however, it is believed to be Aslan King who was last seen at a camping ground on Old Coach Road about 2am on November 23."
The body was found about 10.15am in a creek just over a kilometre from the camping ground where King was last seen.
Friends of King have been posting on Facebook about his disappearance.
"Please if anyone knows of or has seen, passed by, heard from our dear friend Asi, please get in touch ASAP," Tom Mayes wrote on Facebook.
"He is a really special guy and a solid pal to many of us. We all just want our boy back safe and sound. One love."
"Never in a million years did I think I'd ever, ever be this person but my very dear friend Aslan is missing," another friend wrote.
"Any Aussie connections on here please share in the hope he is found safe. He is supposed to be joining us at my wedding in Bali."
Investigators will prepare a report for the coroner.
Police thanked the public and media for their assistance during the search.
