Who Is Dave Nessia from Alone? Every Season, Explained

Spoiler note: this covers how both of his Alone runs ended.

Dave Nessia is one of a small group of contestants to appear on Alone twice, and his two runs make an interesting pair to study side by side. He was 49 during season 3, filmed in the Andes foothills of Patagonia, and 50 when he returned for season 5, the "Redemption" season filmed in Mongolia's Selenge Province. His hometown is listed as Salt Lake City, Utah, in both seasons.

Season 3: 73 days, ended by a medical evacuation

Nessia placed 4th in season 3 at 73 days, the longest run of his two appearances, before being medically evacuated when his blood pressure fell to a dangerously low 80/60. Our data notes the incident occurred during a vision quest, and that he had 33 halves of dried fish stored at the time, meaning food was not the limiting factor in how his first run ended. Full details are on his season 3 contestant page.

His season 3 gear list is fully recorded: a Morakniv Companion knife, a medium felling axe, a bow and arrows with four broadhead points and two judo points, a -20°F synthetic sleeping bag, a clear poly rain tarp, a steel frying pan, a ferro rod, fishing line and hooks in two test weights, and emergency food rations.

Season 5: 36 days, a voluntary tap-out

He returned two seasons later for the "Redemption" cast in Mongolia and placed 4th again, this time lasting 36 days before tapping out. Our data records his reason simply as saying it "just felt right" to leave, a notably different kind of exit than the forced medical evacuation that ended his first run. His season 5 gear list is not recorded in our data.

Detail	Season 3 (Patagonia)	Season 5 (Mongolia)
Age at filming	49	50
Placement	4th	4th
Days lasted	73	36
Reason for exit	Medical evacuation, blood pressure 80/60	Voluntary, "just felt right"

Landing in 4th place twice, with very different day counts and very different reasons for leaving, makes Nessia a useful case study in how placement alone does not tell the whole story of a contestant's run.

Life after two seasons of Alone

As of mid-2026, Nessia is reported to have relocated to Alpharetta, Georgia, as of a Facebook update from November 2023. Earlier reporting also linked him to work with Renewal by Andersen, a window and door replacement company, though his more recent activity is limited: his Instagram account has stayed largely inactive since 2021, and he reportedly keeps a relatively low profile compared to other multi-season returnees.

Why his two runs stand out

Few contestants get invited back at all, and fewer still land in the same placement twice with such different underlying stories. A 73-day medical pull despite having food banked, followed two seasons later by a voluntary exit at less than half that length, suggests his second run was shaped more by a changed mindset than by a repeat of the first season's physical circumstances. For the rest of both casts, see the season 3 page and the season 5 page, and our winners page has the complete list of who has actually taken first place across the franchise.