Tracker Season 4 Episode 2 Recap And Ending Explained

Following a fantastic start with the season premiere, the fourth season of “Tracker” carries on the momentum with the second episode which might not be as complex, but still quite intense nevertheless. Strangely enough,  Russell is still off-screen even after two episodes, which is odd considering familial ties and woes have always been the backbone of the series. Anyway, the episode reminds me of the pilot which also focused on the disappearance of a hiker, although the context is vastly different on this occasion.

Spoilers Ahead

What Happened to Leanna And Kayla?

The episode opens in a picturesque mountain valley located in Sierra Nevada, as mother and daughter duo Leanne and Kayla enjoy the view while hiking along the Pacific Divide trail. Kayla’s father, who has recently passed away, had a passion for adventure, and his last wish was to have his ashes spread in the landscape where he used to return to time and again. Kayla’s sister, Anya was supposed to join them as well, but due to family duties of her own, she couldn’t and is waiting for them at the end of the trail. Despite being mesmerized by the natural beauty, Kayla appears to be worried, and as Leanne asks her daughter what’s bothering her, Kayla reveals she suspects they are being followed by someone who doesn’t appear to be a regular hiker. They find a digital camera close to the spot where they took a break, and it turns out its owner was recording them with it – which confirms Kayla’s suspicion was not misplaced. The narrative then shifts to show Colter, camping in the wilderness, is trying to reach out to his elder brother, Russell, to no avail. Series viewers must remember that in the end of the third season, Russell left on his own by agreeing to partake in a mission for McIntyre, after discovering the terrible truth that aside from participating in government funded clandestine experimentation on gifted children, their father, Ashton, had also experimented on Colter. Back to the case at hand, Randy informs Colter that Anya Reilly has sought help to find her mother, Leanne, and sister, Kayla, as she suspects they have gone missing. Waiting for Kayla and Leanna for quite a long time in their destination and finding them to be unreachable, Anya has asked other hikers who took the same trail, to no avail. Anya has spoken with Becca, a trail angel, who is a volunteer who is familiar with the surroundings and helps people find missing items, lost loved ones. Anya also mentions to Colter that the last time she spoke with Kayla on the previous day, she was concerned that someone was following them.

What Happened to Leanna?

Beginning his search, Colter meets Becca, and while searching along with her on the main trail, they connect. After a brutal divorce, Becca found a sense of purpose by traversing the entire Pacific Divide trail on her own and acting as a trail angel for the last six years. Colter reveals his lifelong dream of embarking on the Snowman trail in Bhutan, one of the toughest treks in the world to test his limits. Not long after, Becca and Colter spot a makeshift camp set up in an odd place, and a sight of it is already giving off major shady vibes. Looking around the camp, they find out the majority of it is stolen stuff, and inside a box a secured id of a certain Jonah Gammon is found, who might be the owner of this camp and the thief in question. Leanna’s backpack is found at the site too, with blood smeared on it – which signals an ominous fate. Noticing suspicious movement in the wilderness in front of them, Colter cautiously proceeds holding his gun, and finds out a bloodied and disheveled Leanna is searching for her missing daughter, Kayla. Leanna reveals the previous night, scared of their stalker, Kayla twisted her ankle while trying to hurriedly reach the resupply store where they were supposed to meet Anya. Leanna wanted to seek help when a man attacked her and knocked her out cold, and Kayla was supposedly abducted by the same person. After learning everything, Colter deduces that their pursuer deliberately left the camera to scare them and send them off trail, making them more vulnerable to his ambush. Colter shows her Jonah’s ID, but Leanna can’t identify him to be the attacker as she couldn’t see the perp’s face. Leanna is sent to hospital by Becca, as Colter continues his search for Kayla. Even though there are not many clues to work with, at least he knows what happened to her. 

Colter is able to corner Jonah after he spots a man lurking in the shades, and engages in a prolonged chase with him. After Colter’s thorough questioning, Jonah turns out to be a petty thief who steals stuff from hikers in the trail to survive, and isn’t involved in Kayla’s disappearance. As Colter pressurizes him more, Jonah reveals that he has seen Kayla, as a man with an old brown truck has abducted her. Jonah even reveals the location where he saw them, and Colter decides not to call cops on him for his assistance. He asks Jonah to seek help instead of risking his life stealing from others in a wilderness trail. Asking Randy, Colter learns about a hiker café located in the same spot where Jonah last saw Kayla and his abductor, and unsurprisingly, Kayla had visited the place with her mother before starting their journey. Not only that, but Randy also finds out the brown truck is located in the same area. The abductor has planned his kidnapping and must have set his target on Kayla ever since she visited the café. Colter and Becca visit the café and question the employees regarding Leanne and Kayla. Diana, who was present during their visit, but she is of no help and there are no security cameras in the café which can help Colter learn more. Becca, who was searching for the brown truck, returns empty handed and right then, a shocking scene unfolds as Colter witnesses a brown truck almost run Becca over. Colter tried to warn Becca, but by that time the truck already hit her and fled. Colter shoots at the truck’s tire which buys him some time. Becca isn’t fatally injured and she asks Colter to go after the perp to save Kayla. Colter entrusts one of the present locals to assist Becca, while he goes after the perp. The perp takes refuge in an empty barn, and a shootout begins – which ends as Colter wings him with his deadly aim. Colter offers help to the perp and asks about Kayla, but suddenly, simply mentioning that Colter will not get him, the perp shoots himself to death. From his ID, Colter identifies the dead perp as a certain Jack Owens, and Randy reveals he works in the same café where he just visited. Colter goes to Owens’ house in hopes of finding Kayla, not knowing whether she is even alive at this point.

Was Colter Able to Rescue Kayla?

Colter isn’t able to find Kayla at Jack’s place, but upon seeing a photograph, he learns that Diana is his mother. As Randy checks up on her background, it is revealed that Diana is a former patient in a psych ward and she became pregnant with Jack during her stay there. She was able to leave the psych ward for maternity care, and never returned. The case as a whole is a pretty simple, and dangerous one. A deranged, perverted Jack was infatuated with Kayla ever since she visited the café with her mother, followed them in their trail and abducted Kayla to be with her. Diana, as the lunatic, overbearing mother she is, decided to protect her son’s secret by holding Kayla captive, and at present she has decided to end her life to cover up for her son. With Randy’s help, Colter is able to locate Diana through her phone location, and holds her at gunpoint right when Diana is about to kill Kayla. Using Colter’s sudden arrival as a distraction, Kayla is able to knock Diana out, and he promptly rescues her. Colter successfully reunites Kayla with Anya and Leanne, and receives the fifteen thousand reward money according to the deal. Before leaving, Colter visits Becca, who has her arm broken after nearly surviving the run over attempt. Russell finally replies to Colter’s texts, and in the next episode  he will probably return. 

Mystery Of Mel’s Mother’s Demise

At Reenie’s temporary office, her assistant Mel requests her to look into the unfinished investigation of the tragic passing of her mother. Mel lost her mother when she was merely a teenager, and she was gunned down by an unknown assailant. The authorities remained clueless about who the killer was, and this led to Mel’s disillusionment with the established system. Mel has recently learned about an military officer named Eric Jeffries, who was with her for several weeks before her death. She tried to look into Jeffries’ records, but was unable to find anything about him. Reenie uses her contacts to get details on Jeffries, and surprisingly, it turns out contrary to what Mel knows, Jeffries was dishonorably discharged from the army, and has gone missing ever since. Jeffries’ massively redacted file also doesn’t portray a good picture of him, but Reenie doesn’t let Mel know about her findings just yet. This subplot of the ongoing season will probably have Reenie going on an investigation on her own to let Mel have the justice and closure she deserves. 

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