Danville, Utah – A woman’s alone at night, seated outside on a swing, when she hears a noise. Suddenly, a hooded figure approaches her as CBS’s Tracker season four, episode four opens.
(The following is a recap of season four, episode four – “Purification” – and there are spoilers.)
Randy (Chris Lee) is still office-less when he calls Colter (Justin Hartley) about Nicole Dunning, a file clerk who disappeared yesterday. Her dad is offering $8,000 but wouldn’t give Randy any details. Nicole’s dad insists on only talking to Colter about her disappearance.
Colter meets with Roy Dunning at Nicole’s apartment and learns that she missed his birthday dinner last night. Roy describes her as an angel, and not checking in is totally out of character.
Colter looks around her apartment as Roy confesses he’s scared; Nicole is his only child. She told him she’d be a little late but didn’t say why. Her friends and co-workers haven’t heard anything from her, and the police won’t help. Plus, Nicole’s phone is still in her apartment.
Roy reveals that his daughter claimed to be upset about work a few days ago but didn’t say why. Colter finds cupcakes in the trashcan with a note that reads, “It doesn’t have to end.” Roy is even more certain this isn’t about her work.
Randy can’t track her car because it doesn’t have GPS, but he accessed her phone. She called a burner three times yesterday that’s now disconnected. Randy tracks the cupcake order to a finance bro named Stephen Jones with a record for battery.
Colter stops by Stephen’s place and learns Stephen’s married and has a son. Stephen claims not to recognize Nicole’s name or know anything about the cupcakes. Colter threatens to speak with his wife, and Stephen finally admits he and Nicole were together. They decided to end things, but yesterday she kept calling him and threatening to come to his house. Stephen saw her at the park at 8pm and she was upset, but they agreed – again – to end it. He jogged home.
Colter orders Stephen to show him where they had their conversation at a nearby public park. Stephen swears he didn’t do anything to Nicole and that he really liked her. Colter walks around a bit and finds a bracelet that Stephen confirms he gave Nicole. Stephen then takes Colter to where Nicole parked but there’s nothing unusual there. He didn’t see anyone in the park but knows there have been assaults reported there recently.
Colter drives around the neighborhood and spots a tow truck hooking up Nicole’s car at a gas station. It’s got obvious damage to the driver’s side, the rear window is shattered, and the plates have been stripped off. He snaps a photo of a hoodie with a bar code sticker in the backseat. The gas station clerk confirms it happened last night and that someone almost killed his employee, Fernando, by bashing his head in. Fernando was found this morning and is currently hospitalized.
Unfortunately, the gas station’s security cameras aren’t working.
Colter visits Fernando in the hospital and Fernando confirms Nicole came by his gas station. She drove in fast and a guy with burn marks all over his hands got out of the passenger side. He looked like a junkie, but Fernando thinks he was just 16-ish. Nicole came in with him and said he was in trouble and that they needed the police. And then a camper van crashed into Nicole’s car in the parking lot. The driver, in a hoodie, punched Fernando in the face.
Fernando describes his assailant as a big guy driving an old green-and-white camper. He also recalls a decal in the window that looked like a two-headed tiger.
Colter fills Randy in on what he’s learned, and they assume Nicole encountered the teenager in the park and was trying to help him. The guy in the camper must have grabbed them at the gas station. Randy believes the tiger decal is from a charitable organization not far from Colter’s location.
Randy asks Reenie (Fiona Rene) and Mel (Cassady McClincy Zhang) if they’ve ever seen the sticker from the hoodie before, and Mel says it’s a check-in sticker from a hospital.
Colter visits the non-profit and asks about the camper van. When Colter mentions that one of their members might have taken a woman, the employee thinks she knows who he’s talking about. They revoked his membership a long time ago because he was creepy and bothered teenage volunteers. His name is Tate Montgomery and Colter snaps a photo of his address.
The camper van’s parked at the address and Colter draws his gun as he approaches it. Colter breaks into the house and spots food on the kitchen table, indicating someone was there recently. He doesn’t find anyone and heads down into the basement where it looks like someone’s been kept against their will.
Colter breaks into a locked room and finds a badly decomposed body in a bed.
Colter finds Tate’s ID and determines the body is his and he’s been dead awhile. The cops are on the way as he calls Randy with an update. Somebody took over Tate’s life and had someone shackled to a bed. There are signs of a fire and Colter believes that’s tied to the teenager with burns on his hands who’s with Nicole. Colter has also found Tate’s social security checks and a guy named Elias Williams was cashing them. Randy gets busy looking him up while Colter continues to search the place before the cops get there.
Colter finds a hidden video camera and watches as the teenager is tied up and forced to drink something. Randy calls and confirms Elias has been taking Tate’s money for years. Elias is a former preacher and Tate’s stepson.
Randy traces Elias’ phone to a nearby storage unit, which is where Colter heads next. Elias is shutting a storage unit as Colter arrives and claims he doesn’t know anything about Nicole. Colter dodges a van that drives up fast and Elias gets in before Colter can react.
Nicole and Jason are tied up in the back of the van, and the driver (Elias’ wife, Cheryl) is pissed that they’ve been discovered. She knows someone is onto them because Jason escaped, and Sheryl blames Elias for letting Jason have a candle. Elias punches her in the face and reminds her that he makes the rules.
Elias thinks they can start over and take Nicole to their other cabin where she can serve them.
Randy traces Elias’ phone just as Reenie confirms the teenager is 16-year-old Jason Williams. The sticker on his hoodie is from an ER visit a year ago when his parents, Elias and Cheryl, brought him in after forcing him to drink bleach. Elias and Cheryl are religious fanatics and thought they were cleansing him.
Back in the van, Nicole works her hands free and attacks Cheryl from behind. The van crashes and rolls over, coming to a stop, blocking one side of the road. Colter’s not far behind when he comes upon the crash, but the van’s empty except for Cheryl, unconscious in the driver’s seat. He follows blood spatters as Nicole and Jason run through the woods, with Elias calling out for his son.
Elias has a large knife and demands that his son stop running.
Colter continues following the blood trail.
Jason can’t run anymore; his leg is injured. Nicole urges him to keep moving, but Elias hears them and his shouts are getting closer. Nicole leaves Jason behind as Elias approaches and demands to know where Nicole ran. Jason points in the wrong direction and Elias hits him, just as Nicole runs up and attacks Elias. Elias is bigger and stronger, and even though Jason tries to help, she’s no match for him.
Elias is just about to stab her when Colter arrives and orders him to drop the knife. Instead, he lunges at Colter with the knife and Colter reacts by kicking him in the chest. He knocks Elias out with a kick to the head. Both Jason and Nicole are safe.
A short while later, Roy arrives at the hospital, relieved his daughter is safe. Jason tells Roy that Nicole saved him, and Nicole says Colter saved them both. Roy hands over the reward and thanks Colter, and Colter praises Nicole for being strong like her father.
Colter calls Reenie and learns Elias and Cheryl pulled Jason from school when he was just six years old. He’s been locked away since. Elias and Cheryl are in custody, but Reenie did find an aunt in Texas who will take Jason in. She had no idea where he’s been.
Reenie signs a lease on a building that Mel really likes and that Mel knew she would. It used to be a bank and has quite a history.
Colter’s back at his camper when Jenna Nova (Gillian Bolt) delivers the backseat that Colter bought at her repair shop. It brings back memories that are mostly good. He doesn’t have any plans, and she wonders if he gets lonely by himself. They flirt and he suggests they go to this rundown diner up the street. Jenna immediately agrees.
