A woman wakes, panicking because her daughter is missing as CBS’s Tracker season three, episode eight gets underway. She runs outside, screaming Aubrey’s name. The action then quickly fast-forwards a year as Colter (Justin Hartley) pulls up in front of a house in Juliet, North Carolina.

(The following is a recap of season three, episode eight and there are spoilers.)

Colter meets with the mother, Sierra (Jessica Sipos), and learns Aubrey hasn’t been seen since going missing. Sierra’s had personal issues, but Colter doesn’t judge her. Colter looks at a photo of Aubrey and Sierra says the dress in it was her daughter’s favorite. Yesterday, that same dress was just hanging on the outdoor clothesline. It’s dirty and ripped, but obviously the same dress.

The police have always assumed Sierra did something to her daughter, and that’s why she called Colter instead of the cops after finding the dress. Sierra confirms she was passed out drunk the night Aubrey disappeared. Aubrey’s blood was found in the house, probably from stepping on glass from Sierra’s broken bottle.

Aubrey’s father died of an overdose before Aubrey was born, and Sierra’s been sober for 10 months. The police never located any suspects, and the town believes she did it. Sierra went as far as going to a psychic to find her daughter, but so far nothing’s turned up.

Colter suggests she call the police now rather than have the discovery be an issue later. The cops show up as Colter walks Sierra through the steps they’ll take, including arresting her for murder. He knows they won’t charge her until after she’s questioned, and that gives him time to find out who left the dress in her yard.

Colter promises to do everything he can to help her through this.

Lead Detective Tyson West (Franco Lo Presti) introduces himself to Colter and it’s obvious he believes Sierra murdered her daughter. He doesn’t expect to find Aubrey alive. Tyson also introduces the former lead detective on the case, Arthur Poness, who’s been brought in to consult. Colter disagrees with their assumption that Sierra put the dress on the clothesline. However, Tyson’s known Sierra for years and thinks she just wants attention. There were never any other suspects.

Tyson takes off to question Sierra, but Arthur sticks around and allows Colter to walk him through what he’s seeing. Colter points out a smudge on the fence and fresh bike tracks, indicating someone rode up on a bike and then climbed the fence into Sierra’s backyard.

Arthur calls Tyson with this new potential evidence as Colter looks around the neighborhood. He spots a security camera pointed in the right direction and rings Randy (Chris Lee) for help. Randy performs a quick search and then links the camera to Colter’s phone. They scan the footage and see the bicyclist. It looks like a kid, and he’s wearing a hoodie with a Captain Calabash logo.

Captain Calabash is a local restaurant and Colter heads over there.

Tyson interrogates Sierra and he firmly believes she killed Aubrey. He shows her a journal, and she admits it’s her 12-step workbook for recovery. In it she wrote that her selfish actions killed Aubrey. Sierra admits she was a bad mom; that’s what she’s trying to own. If she hadn’t been drunk, Aubrey would still be here.

Reenie (Fiona Rene) barges in, introduces herself as Aubrey’s attorney, and stops the interrogation.  (Woah, she got there incredibly fast!) After Tyson leaves, Reenie admits the cops have enough to charge her. However, she’s going to try and suppress the journal from evidence. For now, they have to wait for Colter to come up with who planted the dress.

Captain Calabash turns out to be the perfect starting point as an employee confirms the kid on the bike is Spencer. Spencer (Colin O’Brien) flees in a boat, but Colter beats him to the dock. Colter asks about the dress and Spencer claims he found it. He recognized it from the Missing Person’s poster. Spencer didn’t intend to point the finger at Sierra. He found the dress in his backyard and thinks his dad had something to do with Aubrey’s disappearance.

Spencer saw his dad chop his uncle’s fingers off, and lots of people fear his dad. Spencer lives alone with his dad; his mom ran off when he was a kid. He’s obviously scared of his dad but points out the storage shed where he found the dress. Colter checks it out after Spencer warns him to be quick.

Colter calls Tyson with an update, and Tyson confirms Spencer’s dad, Trevor, has a lengthy rap sheet. Plus, he was seeing Sierra at one point. Tyson says they cleared him last year after they confirmed he was on a fishing trip with his buddies.

Tyson grabs backup and heads to Spencer’s as Spencer’s dog barks and pulls on his leash, right outside the shed. Colter notices the hole underneath the shed and that the shed’s locked.

The dog’s so agitated that Spencer leaves the safety of Colter’s truck just as his dad walks up. Trevor (Brett Zimmerman) cocks his shotgun while holding Spencer’s shoulder as they approach Colter. Colter explains he was hired by Sierra to find Aubrey, and Trevor makes a run for it when Colter says they found Aubrey’s dress. Trevor doesn’t make it far before Colter tackles him. Colter punches him in the face, and they wrestle for the gun. Colter wins and holds Trevor at gunpoint as the cops arrive.

A short while later, the place is flooded with cops and police dogs. Trevor’s handcuffed and swears he had nothing to do with Aubrey’s disappearance. Colter shows Tyson where Spencer found the dress. He thinks the dog crawled under the shed, smelled blood, and brought the dress out.

Colter kicks down the shed’s door while Trevor claims it’s his brother, Derek’s. Trevor hasn’t seen Derek for a year, which is the same time Aubrey was last seen. Trevor confesses he beat up his brother after he stole money from him. The money wasn’t his, so Trevor had to clean up the mess by getting out of town. When he returned, Derek was gone.

Tyson and Colter look through the shed and find Aubrey’s shoe and a clump of her hair. A package with a receipt for hair dye leads Colter and Tyson to believe Derek changed Aubrey’s appearance. She might still be alive if he went on the run with her.

It’s been a whole year, but for some reason, Tyson assembles his team at Trevor’s house to start a search for Derek and Aubrey. Arthur’s with the search group and says what we’re all thinking: Derek is probably in Mexico or somewhere else far away from North Carolina. They wonder if Trevor knew Derek took Aubrey and that’s what they fought about, not money.

Tyson’s going through the legal channels to track Derek’s movements, but Colter’s got a much faster way. Arthur apologizes for not looking into Derek and mentions Trevor and Derek used to hang out at a local pub. Tyson heads that way, while Colter finds out from Randy that Derek hasn’t used his credit card or phone since the day after Aubrey went missing. He last pinged at the shoreline two miles from Trevor’s house.

Colter drives to that location and discovers a chain-link fence with an open gate. There are a few rundown boathouses on a dock, and something catches his eye in the water. He uses a hook and pulley to lift up a large crab trap along with a skeleton. The skeleton’s missing two fingers so it’s probably Derek. There’s a small-caliber bullet hole in his forehead, and Colter believes Derek was handing off Aubrey to someone.

The land is owned by Blue Creek Holdings, a trust set up by Arthur Poness. (I knew he was sketchy!) Colter calls Tyson and fills him in on what he found. Tyson insists there’s no way Arthur was involved, but Colter disagrees. Colter warns Tyson not to call anything in; Arthur might have accomplices on the force.

Tyson gets in his car and suddenly Arthur appears, gun drawn.

Colter arrives at Arthur’s house and kicks in the front door. He searches the house and finds a room filled with little girl things. There are photos on the dresser of Arthur and his wife with Aubrey and a kid’s drawing with figures labeled Aubrey, Grandma, and Grandpa. Above their heads are drawings of a male and female angel.

Colter calls Reenie and Sierra and breaks the news that Aubrey’s alive. Sierra doesn’t understand why Arthur would have Aubrey, but then Colter asks if Arthur is Aubrey’s grandfather. She looks just like the photo of Arthur’s son. Sierra confirms Arthur’s son Jason is Aubrey’s father. Because of her lifestyle, she wasn’t sure who the father was at the time. She never told anyone Jason was the father, and Arthur always hated her because of his son’s death.

Colter calls Tyson, but Arthur picks up and tells Colter to let his family go. He promises Aubrey is safe and loved. Arthur was looking into Trevor when he learned Derek had Aubrey and planned to do “unspeakable things.”

Arthur’s wife, Iris, had seen Aubrey at a store and realized she looked just like their son. When Aubrey was taken, Arthur knew Sierra couldn’t take care of her. He refused to take Aubrey back to her mom, so he told Aubrey her mother had died. And 10 months of being sober now doesn’t prove she’s going to be a decent parent.

Arthur claims he’ll just keep running if he needs to. He shoots Tyson and tells Colter he has about 30 minutes before he dies from the gunshot. Arthur wants to make Colter choose between following him or saving Tyson. (Why can’t Colter just call an ambulance for Tyson?)

Colter has Randy pinpoint Tyson’s location and heads that way while telling Randy to call an ambulance. (Colter says he’s 40 minutes away—won’t the ambulance beat him? Also, Arthur said he had 30 minutes to live.) Night’s fallen by the time he gets to the pub, which isn’t in a remote area. Tyson’s just feet away from the parking lot and barely conscious. Colter binds his wound while asking if Arthur has any property. Tyson says he has a boat named Eurydice, just as sirens approach.

Arthur shoots at Colter as he walks toward the boat at the dock. Colter jumps into the water, and Arthur fires a few more shots. Arthur yells at Iris to start the boat, but it’s too late. Colter emerges from the water and disarms Arthur, demanding to know where Aubrey is. Iris tells her husband to stop and asks Aubrey to come out of hiding. They’ve taught her never to let anyone see her, so she’s scared of Colter. Iris and Arthur assure her it’s okay.

Reenie helps facilitate the reunion, since this will be very traumatic for Aubrey. She believed that her mom died last year. Colter joins them with news that Tyson will be okay. Tyson wanted him to apologize to Sierra for ever blaming her.

Colter tells Sierra this isn’t her fault and reminds her she’s there now for Aubrey. That’s what matters. Sierra thinks that Arthur and Iris thought they were doing the right thing for Aubrey, and she doesn’t blame them.

 “I suppose sometimes people do the wrong things for the right reasons,” says Colter.

• Tracker Season 3 Episode 1 “The Process” Recap
• Tracker Season 3 Episode 2 “Leverage” Recap
• Tracker Season 3 Episode 3 “First Fire” Recap
• Tracker Season 3 Episode 4 “No Man’s Land” Recap
• Tracker Season 3 Episode 5 “The Old Ways” Recap
• Tracker Season 3 Episode 6 “Angel” Recap
• Tracker Season 3 Episode 7 “Eat the Rich” Recap
• Tracker Season 3 Episode 9 “Good Trouble” Recap
• Tracker Season 3 Episode 10 “The Fallout” Recap
• Tracker Season 3 Episode 11 “To the Bone” Recap
• Tracker Season 3 Episode 12 “Do No Harm” Recap