How Did Mariano Reyes Find Carter In 'Dutton Ranch' Finale?

[Spoiler Alert] In Dutton Ranch season 1’s ending, Mariano Reyes’ right-hand man, Gato, and a few other masked men, kidnapped Carter from Dwight White’s ranch, the place where he had been staying for the last couple of days after he walked out of his adoptive parents’ house in episode 8. However, this shocking turn of events brings up one important question that everyone’s been asking: how did Mariano and his men know Carter’s exact location? Did someone snitch on him? Well, as the show’s finale revealed, only two people knew Carter’s whereabouts. The first was his lover, Oreana Jackson, and the second person was Sheriff Handy Wade. Speaking of Oreana, as soon as Beth informed her that she hadn’t been able to find Carter, Oreana went looking for Carter herself. Oreana had a pretty good idea where Carter would be, as throughout season 1, he had been going back to Dwight’s, the only place that made him feel at home. And as far as Sheriff Wade was concerned, Carter himself had asked him to meet him at Dwight’s ranch at the end of episode 8, as he wanted Wade to give him a job; so, Wade was aware of where Carter was all this time. But how did Mariano get this information?

If we’re assuming that someone leaked Carter’s location, then all fingers point to Wade, because I don’t think Oreana would throw Carter under the bus, especially when we know that Carter could be the father of her child. And I think Oreana is truly in love with Carter, as on multiple occasions, she has expressed her desire to build a future with him. In the finale, shortly after leaving Dwight’s ranch, Oreana had been busy packing her stuff so she could leave town with Carter at night, and we never saw her making any calls revealing Carter’s location to anyone. Coming back to the prime suspect, Sheriff Wade, I think if he did leak Carter’s location, he must have had some solid reason for that. Throughout season 1, Wade had been trying to protect Carter so he wouldn’t end up getting in trouble or getting himself hurt, though I am aware that Carter was also the prime witness to the murder of Dwight, whom Wade had shot down for no apparent reason. He told Carter that Dwight was going to attack him with a knife, but as viewers, we already know that was a blatant lie. So, if we assume that Wade really wanted to get rid of Carter because he had been blackmailing him with the single piece of evidence he had against him, then it could be possible that Wade gave his whereabouts to Mariano Reyes so the young lad won’t bother him anymore. However, if Wade’s in bed with the cartel, then it paints him as one of the villains of the show, hiding in plain sight. This means that, though he may have taken money from Beulah Jackson, he may actually have been working for Mariano Reyes. I am still not convinced that Wade’s an unlawful and corrupt cop, but you never know what a person is hiding behind their mask (or badge in Wade’s case). Maybe the second season of Dutton Ranch will finally reveal Wade’s real face.

But other than Wade and Oreana, there was one other person who knew that Carter used to hang out at Dwight’s place, and that was Beulah’s right-hand hand, Miguel, whom Beulah had asked to follow Oreana like a shadow. In the finale, we saw Miguel shaking hands with Mariano’s enforcer, Gato, so we can assume that it was Miguel who might have snitched on Carter. However, there’s one big flaw in this theory: except for Rip, Beth, their ranch hands, Oreana, and Wade, no one else knew that Carter had left home. So, Miguel guessing that Carter might be at Dwight’s place, even after Wade had shot the rancher dead, is a huge assumption, and if the show made that logical leap, then I would consider it a plot hole rather than smart writing. The reason being: if so many important events are happening in the background, and you are leaving everything to the viewer’s assumption, then what’s the point of even making a show? Nevertheless, many people still want to think it’s Miguel, so let it be. However, I have one more logical explanation for how Mariano might have located Carter, and there’s a chance many of you will agree with this theory.

In the Dutton Ranch season 1 finale, Beth got a call from an unknown number, asking to speak to Rip Wheeler. It was Mariano, who had somehow got his hands on Beth’s number, establishing the fact that Mariano was a powerful man who could locate anyone anytime he wanted. And after Mariano wrangled Beth’s number, Rip pointed out that if they could get their phone numbers, then they might have figured out their license plate as well. Well, that’s your clue that Mariano, through his network, might be tracking Rip, Beth, and their son, Carter’s mobile phones, and keeping an eye on their vehicles. I know this bit’s quite funny, because Beth asked Wade to get a location ping on Carter’s phone, but he couldn’t do it without a court order, yet a criminal like Mariano could track down anyone’s location through their cellphones without having to go through the courts. I guess that’s just the show trying to tell us that Mariano is more influential than a simple lawman like Wade. Nevertheless, I guess that’s what happened with Carter. No one snitched on him or leaked his whereabouts, it was Mariano’s men who tracked down his cellphone location and showed up at Dwight’s house to kidnap Carter. It was still a bit of a leap, because some viewers really needed answers as to how Mariano’s men pulled that off, but I think the showrunners believed that if Mariano could get Beth’s number, then he could even track her phone. Well, that’s what I assumed, but if you have any other theory to pitch, then please do share below.