Veteran treasure hunter Dan Blankenship and his son, Dave, have been arguably the most fascinating people in the "The Curse of Oak Island" roster. The Blankenship torch was passed down to Dave after his father’s passing, but as Season 8 rolled in, Dave was nowhere to be seen, leaving fans to speculate.

It was earlier thought that Dave’s absence from the show was due to health precautions amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. However, fans on Reddit have discussed a mysterious, since-deleted Facebook comment, ostensibly by Blankenship, indicating that he walked away from the show due to some unresolved issues.

According to the website Mysteries of Canada, Blankenship stated that he retired from the show because he felt it didn't give his father the attention he deserved. He added that the creators also didn't allow Dan to be adequately involved during his tenure with the show.