CBS’s Tracker season two episode 18 finds Colter on the case of a missing former model in Willow Creek, Michigan. The episode begins with a young woman on the phone with her mom as she’s driving home from work. She’s had a rough day and needs to decompress by taking a drive. Headlights flash behind her, and then she’s sideswiped and pushed onto the side of the road.
The car pulls a U-turn and heads back to the crash site.
The following day, Velma (Abby McEnany) calls Colter (Justin Hartley) with details on the now missing woman. Riley Adams is 26 years old, and her mom is offering a $15,000 reward. The police were called, but they didn’t find any signs of foul play.
Colter meets with Riley’s mom, Susanna, and learns her calls are going straight to voicemail. Something’s been up with Riley since she moved back home a few months ago from New York. She was on track for a successful modeling career but suddenly left that behind to move back in with her mom. Susanna sensed something had happened in NY, but Riley refused to discuss it.
Colter suggests that Riley might return on her own, given the lack of evidence indicating her abduction. Riley’s mom is adamant that something’s wrong, and Colter agrees to take on the case.
Colter heads to the highway Riley was on when she called her mom, and Detective Katie Douglas meets him there. She knows Riley and her mom and has been searching the area but hasn’t found anything important. Katie says Riley didn’t appear on the gas station cameras down the road, and her cell phone has been offline since last night.
Colter spots a piece from Riley’s car, but there’s no car to be found. There’s only one set of brake marks, and Colter deduces 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 worried about her friend and reveals that men always notice her because she’s gorgeous. Colter looks in Riley’s locker and finds a folder with a creepy, unsigned letter that sounds like a stalker wrote it.
Riley never mentioned a stalker but had “weird fans” from her modeling days. Cheryl recalls that Riley and their co-worker Todd got into it recently, but she doesn’t know what it was about. Colter questions Todd and learns Riley was furious at him for butting into her life after a stranger seemed to freak her out. Todd believes Riley knew the man and doesn’t think he was just a customer. He was driving a black Jaguar with New York plates. The creep left a coffee cup behind, and Todd finds it for Colter. The cup’s from Chalet 25, a boutique hotel outside of town.
Obviously, that’s Colter’s next stop, and the car is outside with damage to its passenger side. Colter 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, and it comes back to Vincent Rourke, a former boxer who owns a hot club in NYC. Rourke’s phone records indicate he called her dozens of times a day, but she never answered. Vincent is married with two kids, and he showed up in Michigan for no obvious reason.
Justin Hartley as Colter Shaw in ‘Tracker’ season 2 episode 18 (Photo: Darko Sikman © 2025 CBS Broadcasting, Inc)
Colter pretends to be an insurance investigator and talks to the Chalet 25 valet about the car. While the valet fetches the hotel manager, Colter looks at the car keys and sees that Vincent is in room eight. Colter steals the key from the manager and enters Vincent’s room without permission. Gun drawn, he looks around the room before Vincent sends him flying. A fight breaks out, and Colter gets the upper hand.
Vincent claims he has nothing to do with Riley’s disappearance. It turns out Riley is five months pregnant and he’s the father. They met at his club, and he wasn’t even aware that she’s pregnant until last week. Riley wouldn’t answer his calls, so he came to see her. He wants to pay for everything and set up a bank account for their baby. However, Riley is still trying to figure out if she will keep it.
Two nights ago, someone wearing a ski mask took a crowbar to his car. He assumed that Colter was the person who did it, and that’s why he attacked him when he broke in. Vincent truly cares about Riley and doesn’t know anything about a potential stalker.
Colter asks the manager if he can look at the security footage. The manager refuses to show it to him. (Colter lied to him and also stole Vincent’s room key, so you can’t really blame him.)
Colter and Detective Katie Douglas inform Riley’s mom that Riley is pregnant. She had no idea, but now she thinks that’s why Riley came home. Colter tells her about Vincent and the possibility that whoever damaged his car is responsible for Riley’s disappearance.
Randy and Bobby send Colter the footage from the hotel, and he and Detective Douglas watch it. It’s clear that the person who damaged Vincent’s car is a woman. They zoom in on a hand and spot nail polish that matches Cheryl’s, Riley’s friend from work. Katie corrects Colter when he says they were best friends in school. Cheryl was an outsider who just tagged along and copied everything Riley did.
Katie calls Cheryl’s work and learns she went home sick after Colter talked to her. They race to Cheryl’s place, and Colter refuses to wait for backup. He opens the garage and finds Riley’s car. It’s damaged and Riley’s cell phone is broken and on the front seat.
They enter Cheryl’s house, guns drawn, and discover Cheryl’s dead body. Above it is written, “Riley’s mine forever” in blood. It appears Cheryl committed suicide.
Colter continues to look around after the cops arrive and finds a journal full of love letters to Riley. It’s obvious that Cheryl knew about the pregnancy and about Vincent. These letters match the writing on the note Colter found in Riley’s locker. However, they don’t match the writing on the wall.
Someone staged the scene to make the cops think Cheryl killed Riley before committing suicide. The cops would focus on Cheryl and give the real kidnapper time to escape. Whoever did it must have known Cheryl was obsessed with Riley.
Colter looks at Cheryl’s body again and suggests that Cheryl was killed somewhere else and placed in her house. Colter has Bobby trace Cheryl’s phone to see where she went directly after work. Her phone pinged at the address of Tyler and Monica Harper, but Detective Douglas believes they’re decent people. (Tyler’s in construction and Monica’s a nurse.) Bobby and Randy look for any connection between the Harpers and Cheryl, and Randy finds that Tyler did work on Cheryl’s house a few months back.
The scene switches to show Riley in a room set up as a nursery. Riley’s tied down on the bed as Monica does an ultrasound while confessing that she and Tyler killed Cheryl. Monica needs the police to look for a suspect elsewhere.
The ultrasound shows a baby girl’s strong heartbeat. Monica insists that Riley doesn’t want the baby and doesn’t deserve to keep her. She’s going to be the baby’s mother, and Tyler will be the dad. Tyler joins them and warns Monica that they don’t have much time.
Monica injects Riley with something to knock her out as Riley screams.
The cops and Colter pull up at the Harpers’ house and no one answers. They kick down the door and search the house, but it’s empty. Their car’s gone, and Detective Douglas issues an APB. A roadblock has also been set up.
Justin Hartley as Colter Shaw in ‘Tracker’ season 2 episode 18 (Photo: Darko Sikman © 2025 CBS Broadcasting, Inc)
Colter spots two crosses outside in the garden. They are headstones for Tyler and Monica’s babies. Colter realizes it’s not about Riley; it’s about the baby. He calls Reenie (Fiona Rene) and learns the Harpers have been trying to have a baby and have suffered two miscarriages. Their IBF records show they spent their life savings and tried for at least a decade to have a baby. Tyler has a record for involuntary manslaughter, so they couldn’t adopt. Plus, Monica isn’t actually Monica. She went by Lisa four years ago when she was accused of impersonating a nurse.
Night falls, and the Harpers’ car is spotted on a highway. By the time Colter arrives, a cop has been shot in the abdomen. He indicates which way they went, and Cotler and Detective Douglas run off chasing them down. Colter sees one set of prints just as shots ring out. He and Detective Douglas take cover behind a tree and spot where the shots are coming from. Detective Douglas lays down cover fire as Colter circles around to a better position.
Colter launches himself at Tyler and then holds him at gunpoint, demanding to know where Riley is.
They bring Tyler to the station, and Detective Douglas interrogates him. Tyler claims the detective will never understand what he and Monica are going through. He insists they’ll never find Monica or Riley.
Detective Douglas is furious she can’t get him to talk, and Colter volunteers to try. Colter reveals that he knows Monica is actually Lisa, who is mentally ill and has spent time in a hospital. Colter wonders what will happen when Monica finally gets what she wants. He suggests that Monica will kill Riley and then use Tyler as a scapegoat and kill him too.
Tyler confirms his heart was broken after the death of Tyler Jr. He just wants Monica to be happy and for them to be a family. Tyler slips up and says they’re safe where he left them. He clams up, but Colter realizes Monica’s still back at the house.
Detective Douglas, Colter, and a couple of cops return to the house, but no one’s there. As they’re about to leave, Colter notices a space above the garage. Colter thinks that Tyler might have built a hidden room because he’s in construction.
Colter and Detective Douglas quietly approach the room and find Monica bending over Riley, holding a scalpel to her throat. She threatens to kill Riley, but Colter tells her he doesn’t believe her. She wouldn’t risk harming the baby. Monica cries and says Riley doesn’t deserve a baby.
Colter speaks softly and assures her he knows she wouldn’t hurt the baby. He spots the syringe and reminds her that the sedative is also slowing down the baby’s heart. Monica claims she didn’t mean to and hands over the scalpel.
Detective Douglas places her under arrest as Colter checks on Riley. He promises she’ll be okay.
Colter takes her home, and Riley and her mom hug, happy to be safely reunited. Susanna pays Colter and thanks him for bringing her daughter home.
Detective Douglas informs Cotler that the cop who was shot will be okay. She thanks Colter for being a terrific teacher and jokes that she’d sign up for his class on how to be a bloodhound if he ever decides to teach one.
The episode ends with Colter reminding Detective Douglas she can call him if she ever needs anything. Oh, and during the episode we learned an interesting (and bizarre) tidbit about the rewardist: Colter’s scared of chickens.
