In the eighteenth episode of CBS's "Tracker" season two, we find Colter on the case of a missing former model in the quaint town of Willow Creek, Michigan. The episode commences with a young woman's phone call to her mother as she navigates her way home from work, her face reflecting the exhaustion of a long day. She craves solace in the open road, only to be met by the sudden flash of headlights and a violent sideswipe that sends her careening off the road. The car returns to the scene of the crash with haste.
The following day, Velma (Abby McEnany) reaches out to Colter (Justin Hartley) with details on the now-missing Riley Adams, 26, whose mother is offering a $15,000 reward. Though the police were called, they found no signs of foul play. Colter meets with Riley's mother, Susanna, who explains that Riley's calls have been going straight to voicemail since she returned home from New York a few months ago. There was something off about Riley's return, and while Susanna sensed something had happened in NY, Riley refused to elaborate.
Colter suggests that Riley might return on her own, given the lack of evidence indicating her abduction. However, Riley's mother is adamant that something is wrong, and Colter agrees to take on the case.
Colter heads to the highway where Riley was last seen on her phone call with her mother. Detective Katie Douglas meets him there, familiar with both Riley and her mother. She has been searching the area but has found nothing significant. Katie informs Colter that Riley did not appear on the gas station cameras down the road, and her cell phone has been offline since last night.
As Colter examines the scene, he spots a piece from Riley's car but discovers no car in sight. There's only one set of brake marks, leading Colter to deduce that someone deliberately ran her off the road and then kidnapped her.
His next stop is Riley's work, where he speaks with Cheryl (Summer Lynn Gillespie), who has been friends with Riley since childhood. Cheryl's concerned about her friend and reveals that men always notice Riley because of her beauty. Colter finds a folder in Riley's locker containing a creepy, unsigned letter that sounds like it was written by a stalker. While Riley never mentioned a stalker, she did have "weird fans" from her modeling days.
Cheryl recalls that Riley recently got into an altercation with their co-worker Todd, but she doesn't know what it was about. Colter questions Todd and learns that Riley was furious at him for butting into her life after a stranger seemed to freak her out. The stranger was driving a black Jaguar with New York plates, and Todd finds the coffee cup he left behind for Colter. The cup is from Chalet 25, a boutique hotel outside of town.
Obviously, this is Colter's next stop, and he finds the car outside with damage to its passenger side. He calls Bobby (Eric Graise), and Randy (Chris Lee) picks up. Apparently, they are now a dynamic duo working together while driving each other crazy. They run the plate, which comes back to Vincent Rourke, a former boxer who owns a hot club in NYC. Rourke's phone records indicate he called Riley dozens of times a day, but she never answered. Vincent is married with two kids and showed up in Michigan for no obvious reason.
Colter, posing as an insurance investigator, engages in a conversation with the Chalet 25 valet about the car. As the valet fetches the hotel manager, Colter surreptitiously inspects the car keys and discovers that Vincent is in room eight. He steals the key from the manager and enters Vincent's room uninvited, a gun drawn. As he scans the room, Vincent sends him flying with a swift move, initiating a fight in which Colter eventually gains the upper hand.
Vincent asserts his innocence in Riley's disappearance, revealing that he is the father of her unborn child, who is five months along. They met at his club, and he only recently learned of her pregnancy last week. Riley has been unresponsive to his calls, prompting him to come to her. He offers to cover everything and set up a bank account for their baby, though Riley is still uncertain about keeping the child.
Two nights prior, someone in a ski mask used a crowbar to damage Vincent's car, leading him to assume it was Colter who did it. This was the reason for his aggressive response when Colter broke in. Despite his genuine concern for Riley, Vincent was unaware of any potential stalker.
Colter requests to view the security footage from the manager, but is met with resistance (given his deception and theft of Vincent's room key). Colter and Detective Katie Douglas inform Riley's mother of her pregnancy, sparking her assumption that this is why Riley returned home. Colter shares Vincent's involvement and suggests that whoever damaged Vincent's car may be responsible for Riley's disappearance.
Randy and Bobby send Colter the hotel footage, which reveals that the person who damaged Vincent's car is a woman. Zooming in on a hand reveals nail polish matching Cheryl's, Riley's coworker friend. Katie corrects Colter on their past relationship, noting that Cheryl was an outsider who followed Riley's lead.
Katie calls Cheryl's workplace to learn that she went home sick after Colter spoke with her. They race to Cheryl's place, with Colter refusing to wait for backup. Inside the garage, they find Riley's damaged car with her broken cell phone on the seat.
Entering Cheryl's house with guns drawn, they discover her dead body with the words "Riley's mine forever" written in blood above it. It appears Cheryl committed suicide, but Colter suggests she was killed elsewhere and placed in her house after the police arrive. He has Bobby trace Cheryl's phone to determine her whereabouts after work, revealing that her phone pinged at the address of Tyler and Monica Harper. Despite Detective Douglas's initial skepticism about the Harpers' character (Tyler works in construction and Monica is a nurse), Bobby and Randy uncover a connection between Cheryl and Tyler, who worked on Cheryl's house a few months ago.
The scene shifts to show Riley tied down on a bed in a nursery-themed room as Monica performs an ultrasound while confessing that she and Tyler killed Cheryl. Monica insists that Riley doesn't want the baby and doesn't deserve to keep her, claiming she will be the baby's mother while Tyler will be the father. Tyler joins them, warning Monica that they don't have much time.
Monica injects Riley with a sedative as she screams, while the cops and Colter arrive at the Harpers' house to find it empty. Their car is gone, prompting Detective Douglas to issue an APB and set up a roadblock.
As dusk settled over the garden, Colter spotted two crosses marking the resting places of Tyler and Monica's unborn children. It dawned on him that this was not about Riley's disappearance but rather the unrequited longing for a child. Reaching out to Reenie (Fiona Rene), he learned of the Harpers' decade-long struggle to conceive, their life savings spent on in vitro fertilization (IVF) attempts marred by two miscarriages. Tyler's criminal record, including an involuntary manslaughter charge, had denied them the option of adoption. Moreover, Monica, once known as Lisa, had four years ago faced accusations of impersonating a nurse.
As night fell, the Harpers' car was spotted on a highway, and by the time Colter arrived, a cop lay wounded with a bullet in his abdomen, pointing the way they had fled. Colter and Detective Douglas pursued them relentlessly, their footsteps echoing in the darkness as they chased after the elusive couple. As the sounds of gunfire echoed through the night, Colter and Douglas took cover behind a tree, their hearts racing as they spotted the source of the shots. Douglas provided cover fire while Colter circled for a better position.
With a surge of determination, Colter launched himself at Tyler, holding him at gunpoint and demanding to know Riley's whereabouts. Bringing Tyler to the station, Detective Douglas interrogated him relentlessly, but Tyler remained stubbornly silent, convinced that she and her husband would never be understood.
Frustrated by Tyler's defiance, Detective Douglas turned to Colter for help. Revealing the truth about Monica's true identity and her mental health history, Colter warned that when Monica finally got what she desired, she might use Tyler as a scapegoat and harm Riley as well. Tyler, brokenhearted after the loss of Tyler Jr., merely wanted Monica to be happy and become a family. But in his desperation to make her so, he let slip that they were safe where he had left them—a clue that Colter picked up on.
Returning to the house with Detective Douglas and a few other cops, they found it empty at first. Just as they were about to leave, Colter noticed a small space above the garage. Believing Tyler's construction background, he suspected a hidden room. Approaching it cautiously, they found Monica bending over Riley, a scalpel pressed to her throat. Threatening to kill the child, she was met with Colter's reassurance that he didn't believe she would harm her. As he spotted the syringe and reminded her of the sedative slowing down Riley's heart, Monica realized her mistake and handed over the scalpel willingly.
Colter brought Riley and her mother home, where they embraced joyously, safe and reunited. Susanna thanked Colter profusely for his efforts. Detective Douglas informed him that the wounded cop would recover and joked about enrolling in his "bloodhound" class if he ever taught one. The episode ended with Colter offering to help Detective Douglas anytime she needed it—a testament to their growing friendship and mutual respect. And amidst the chaos, an unexpected tidbit about Colter's fear of chickens added a quirky note of humor to the story.
