Gold Rush this season has seen familiar fan favorites taking the lead after last season had Fred Lewis and the Clayton Brothers struggling to find any gold. With Rick Ness back, he joins Parker Schnabel and Tony Beets to give fans three very successful miners working this current 14th season. However, one face is missing with Kevin Beets nowhere to be found.

Here is the real reason Kevin Beets is not on Gold Rush this season and what he is doing instead.

Where is Kevin Beets on Gold Rush this season?

When the new season of Gold Rush started, Tony Beets was preparing for the new season and was missing one member of his family-ran operation. Kevin Beets, who operated the gold mine alongside his dad, hadn’t shown up. There had been no call or explanation and Tony wondered what was keeping his right-hand man from showing up on site.

That was explained through a video call on the computer. Kevin and his wife Faith Teng were on the call and Kevin told his dad that he wouldn’t be joining them this season for the gold mining. This seemed a poor move since he did it without warning, just as his dad was gearing up for the season. With very little time to figure out Kevin’s replacement, he left his dad in a really bad spot.

Kevin said that he and his wife wanted to get in some gardening and fix up their house. From the sound of it, he was just growing tired of the mining life and wanted to spend more time at home with his wife. It was not good enough for Tony, though, who called it a “s**t excuse.” He might have been mad that his son waited until the last minute, making things harder on him and his operations.

Tony replaces Kevin Beets with Monica

Tony Beets had little time to find a replacement for Kevin Beets, who had an important job in the operations. Wanting to keep things in the family, Tony decided to go ahead and keep moving ahead and put his daughter Monica in charge of the plant.

Monica Beets is the youngest of the Beets family, but she has grown up around the gold mining operation and has a strong sense of what makes it work. She had worked with the machinery since she was 12 and by 18 was working full time with her dad. Now, she has a chance to run a plant and is proving that she can cover for her brother as he gardens and works on his house.

What are your thoughts on Kevin Beets’ reasons for leaving Gold Rush? Do you think waiting until the last minute to tell his dad was wrong? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.