Tracker Episode 4: “Mt. Shasta” Recap With Spoilers

Tracker, the new Sunday night hit for CBS, returned with its fourth episode on March 3rd, once again following a new episode of The Equalizer. This new edition of the series sees Justin Hartley’s Colter Shaw taking on a case that’s close to home for one of the show’s main characters. The teenage son of one of Reenie’s good friends has gone missing, and its up to Colter to locate him. WARNING: This article contains full spoilers for Tracker’s latest episode! Continue reading at your own risk…

The episode begins with a teenager running through the woods, seemingly being chased by someone. As they hide from whoever’s behind them, the series cuts to Reenie getting out of her car at some kind of gated institute/school. Her friend, Erica, reveals that her son seemingly ran away in the night but no one at the school will talk to her about it. They call in Colter to help locate the young man.

Erica reveals that her son, Noah, was enrolled in the high security school because of some substance abuse issues. This was his “last chance” and she thinks he might have escaped because of those issues. The dean of the school tells them that Noah is currently unaccounted for, but that they have a “safety protocol” and a private security team working to track him down. The dean confirmed that Noah relapsed a few months prior and didn’t inform the parents about it. Colter is taken to the location on the property that Noah was last seen. They also take the opportunity to check out Noah’s dorm room to try and find some information about where he could be. Colter notices that Noah’s bathroom kit includes some items that definitely belong to a girl, leading them to believe he may have had a secret relationship.

Colter talks with another teenager, Johnny, who was one of the last people to see Noah before he left the school’s property. After some convincing, Johnny says Noah was last seen behind the maintenance shed arguing with a man named Zeke who works at the school. It turns out, Zeke didn’t show up for work, either. Security footage shows him leaving campus the night before, with what appears to be Noah hidden under a blanket in his back seat. Even though the dean wants to leave things with the police, Colter insists on looking for Zeke, and to see if the mystery girlfriend might be connected. According to Bobby, Zeke’s phone is disconnected, but he had several calls to someone named Lisa Jefferson, and Colter decides to pay a visit to her address. When he arrives, it appears the house had already been broken into. A young girl with bruises on her face opens the door saying she doesn’t know where Noah is, but agrees to help Colter.

Lisa explains that Noah didn’t hurt her and that’s too sweet of a person to do any of that. They are still sort of seeing each other, talking when they can. Zeke apparently helped Noah sneak off of campus so he could see Lisa, knowing she had been attacked by her ex-boyfriend and drug dealer. She heard from Noah that he had made it off campus and was going to confront Ray about hurting her. Reenie tells Colter how close she’s always been to Noah’s family and that he needs to do everything he can to find him.

Colter goes to the bar where Ray is usually found. The bouncer tells him that there was a teenager there who confronted Ray and things got ugly. Noah left but Ray chased after him. Driving out in the woods to find them, Colter found Zeke stumbling out onto the road with a bullet hole in his abdomen. Down in a ditch a short distance from the road, Colter found Zeke’s car. Zeke, unfortunately, wasn’t able to survive his wounds. Colter encounters Tom Ritter, the head of the school’s security team, who spotted his truck while tracking down Zeke’s car.

The two men, tracking Noah through the woods, notice clues left behind by Noah. Tom suggests the two of them split up, and Colter seems to be a little suspicious of him. Colter ran into Noah and was able to gain his trust. As they were patching up Noah’s leg, they heard a gunshot. Tom appears to have been shot by Ray, but he says he got a shot off on him as well. Colter gets a bandage on Tom, who tells him to get Noah out of the woods. Colter calls Bobby for help, leaving Tom behind. As they walk through the woods, they come face to face with Ray, who has his gun trained on them.

Colter tries to reason with Ray as he gets between him and Noah. To try and catch him by surprise, Noah takes off to the side, drawing Ray’s attention long enough to Colter to take him out. Noah’s reunited with his mom, Reenie, and Lisa. Reenie informs Colter that Tom was found and doing okay. Part of the reason Noah was able to survive out in the woods on his own were the skills he learned at the school. Reenie and Colter share a sincere moment, free of sarcasm and jokes for once, before she leaves the campus. Something might actually be brewing between them again, but it remains to be seen.

Colter pays Noah a visit before he takes off. He gives Noah a gift to commemorate the journey he went on and his ability to keep himself alive. Teddi and Velma call Colter to tell him that they have a job lined up for him in Manhattan, Kansas as he pulls away.