Gold Rush recently made its return for a new season. During the premiere, one of the series’ stars initially appeared to be M.I.A., at least to his team. Soon, however, he revealed a concerning admission about his health.
A Few Of Rick Ness’ Team Members Were Wondering What Happened To Him With Gold Rush‘s Season 17 Premiere
Ness is a gold miner and reality TV personality known for his appearances on Gold Rush. He initially joined the series in the third season as part of Parker Schnabel’s crew.
Ness left Parker’s team towards the end of Season 8, launching his own independent mining operation by the following season. Recently, viewers saw the series’ crew return with the start of Season 17.
The latest season made its debut on October 2, 2026, with “The Most Gold Wins.” However, Ness appeared to be missing in action towards as the action got started.
At Ness’ site, his crew members, Jason and Heather Folster, were concerned, sharing that they hadn’t heard from him recently. They checked in on him through a Zoom with other team members. Rick confided that he wasn’t feeling too good during a car ride to Dawson City with Brian “Zee” Zaremba. He then began to open up about his issues.
Ness shared that he was dealing with sleepwalking, and that he had hurt his head after a fall during one such episode. Zee then convinced him to go see a specialist for help.
As Ness shared, “I can tell you, I don’t feel good. I can’t concentrate, pay attention to anything, I can’t stay awake.” Later, he added, “I woke up on the floor of my bathroom three times.”
After The Doctor’s Appointment, Ness’ Crew Discussed An Issue Underway At The Site
Ness expressed some concern about going to the doctor, admitting that this would be the first time in around a decade, but ultimately agreed to go. During a doctor’s visit, Ness initially received some good news. His heart, lungs, and blood pressure appeared to be good. However, it was decided that he likely had sleep apnea. This led to him being recommended for an overnight sleep study.
Ultimately, Ness expressed some regret over not getting things checked out sooner, but was hopeful moving forward. He shared, “I should’ve taken care of this a long time ago, but instead I was stubborn and I fought it and it did me no good,” he admitted. “No matter when I was supposed to take care of this, I took care of it now, and now I can only move forward and try to make something of it.”
However, Ness shared his concern that he wasn’t out of the woods just yet. As he shared, “I’m baby-proofing my own house so I [don’t] kill myself. It’s gonna change. It has to. I don’t want to die.”
After the appointment, Ness went on his way to Duncan Creek, meeting up with his crew. At the time, they were tough but caring about being ghosted. However, another issue was underway: before work could start, the team needed an engineer with a mining plan, per safety protocol.
What is your reaction to Rick Ness’ recent share? Have you been following this story? Are you keeping up with Season 17 of Gold Rush? Make sure you come back to TV Shows Ace for all the latest reality TV and celebrity news.
John Witiw has been a writer since at least 2015. He’s covered a variety of topics, especially when it comes to film and television.