In Tracker Season 2, Episode 6, titled “Trust Fall,” Colter Shaw (played by Justin Hartley) is called to investigate a case involving a group of college friends who went camping in Washington State’s Snoqualmie National Forest.
What seems like a simple missing-persons investigation turns into a complicated and dangerous mystery that involves dark secrets, betrayal, and murder. The episode, directed by Jennifer Morrison, weaves together past events, current tensions, and unexpected alliances as Colter solves a case full of twists.
A Night Gone Wrong
The episode opens with a seemingly innocent camping trip. Monica (Holly Curran) and Jason (Jean-Luc Bilodeau) tease their friend Sam (Dejon Loyola) about being a “lightweight” because he can’t hold his liquor. The group is having a good time, dancing to The Cranberries’ “Time Is Ticking Out,” enjoying each other’s company, and reminiscing about old times.
The setting seems idyllic, but the carefree mood hides the tension simmering underneath. Even when Monica suggests that they take a moonlit hike to a nearby waterfall to sober up, it doesn’t appear to be anything more than a friendly idea. Cooper (Andres Velez), one of the group members, seems reluctant, but not for any alarming reason—he simply might have grown out of the party scene.
However, the next morning, things take a dark turn. The campsite is abandoned, and there’s blood, but no sign of the friends. Lauren (Ashley Wong), who missed the first night of the camping trip due to a business dinner, is the one who finds the scene.
She arrives to find the tents left behind and the evidence of a violent encounter, with bloodstains and a chilling emptiness. Lauren’s confusion and concern grow as she realizes that everyone, except for Sam, left their phones behind. The situation is immediately alarming.
Colter Shaw is hired by Lauren to find out what happened to her friends. When he arrives at the campsite, he notes the disarray and the lack of communication from the group. Colter, ever the cautious investigator, remarks that “drunk hiking is not the greatest life choice” —a rare moment of judgment from a man who usually stays calm in the face of danger.
Sam is found injured not far from the campsite, and his story is confusing. He claims that he fell down a hill, passed out, and missed the hike. He also mentions hearing gunshots, which Colter determines came from a shotgun. Despite Sam’s injuries, Colter believes his story.
It’s a bold move, considering Sam has a criminal history for drunk and disorderly behavior. While Colter had just been questioning whether Sam could be a threat, he now shows confidence in the young man’s innocence, even suggesting that Lauren take Sam to the hospital. This decision seems risky, as Colter leaves Lauren alone with Sam, but thankfully, Sam doesn’t appear to be dangerous in this situation.
The investigation begins to unfold with a series of clues that don’t quite add up. Bobby (Eric Graise), a member of Colter’s team, looks into Sam’s criminal background and uncovers his history of trouble with the law. With this in mind, Lauren calls the police, and they begin to investigate the situation more seriously.
The mystery only deepens when Colter discovers that Sam had been drugged with Monica’s anxiety medication. Sam wasn’t supposed to be on the hike, which raises even more questions about what really happened that night.
An Unexpected Mentor: Keaton, the Retired Cop
As Colter continues his investigation, he meets an unexpected ally in the woods—a retired Tacoma police officer named Keaton (Brent Sexton). The two men size each other up as they work together to uncover the truth. Colter immediately dismisses the possibility that Keaton is the gunman he’s looking for, which impresses Keaton.
Keaton reveals that he is another type of tracker—not a criminal investigator, but one who tracks the moon cycles. He explains that the rare Super Blue Moon that occurred the night before is what brought him to the area. The event reminds him of an unsolved case from his past, when he couldn’t catch a serial killer who had committed crimes during the rare lunar event.
Keaton’s experience in law enforcement and his knowledge of tracking lead him to team up with Colter to find out who has been firing a shotgun in the woods. The two bond over their shared experiences with unsolved cases and cold leads. Colter mentions the disappearance of Gina Pickett, a case that haunts him deeply.
Gina’s case was featured in the season’s premiere, when Colter had met with Gina’s sister to mark the anniversary of her disappearance. Keaton, intrigued by the case, offers to put fresh eyes on the mystery of Gina Pickett’s disappearance, indicating that he may be a valuable asset to Colter in future episodes.
Before long, Colter and Keaton track down the man with the shotgun. It turns out to be a red herring. The man, Marcus Wilson (Haig Sutherland), is a mentally ill genius living off the grid with a delusion that the woods belong to him.
Marcus confesses that he fired the shotgun simply because he felt like it, not realizing the campers had been in danger. He reveals that Monica and Jason had held Cooper at knifepoint before running off together. The situation seems even more complicated as Colter begins to understand the depth of the group’s turmoil.
The Secrets Unfold: Cooper’s Dark Past
As the investigation continues, new revelations come to light. While Colter and Keaton are tracking down the gunman, Bobby continues to investigate the group of friends. He uncovers a secret about Cooper that shakes things up: Cooper has been making regular, anonymous payments to a woman named Natalie in Seattle.
Colter asks Reenie (Fiona Rene), who happens to be in the area for a business meeting, to speak to Natalie and find out more.
Reenie uncovers some unsettling details about Natalie’s past—her husband was killed in a suspected hit-and-run eight years ago, and his body was never found. Some tip line calls suggest that a group of drunk college students might have been responsible for the accident.
This new information connects the dots and begins to explain why Cooper has been acting the way he has. It turns out that Cooper, who has been carrying the weight of this dark secret for years, was the one who wanted to confess.
He wanted the guilt to stop haunting him, and he wanted to help Natalie and her son find closure. However, his friends, Monica and Jason, weren’t as willing to come clean. They had planned the camping trip with the intention of intimidating and possibly killing Cooper, preventing him from ever revealing the truth about their involvement in the death of Natalie’s husband.
As the episode unfolds, Monica and Jason force Cooper to drive away from the campsite, intending to confront him about his “insurance plan” for their dark secret. They break into his laptop and discover a written confession and the location where they had buried Natalie’s husband’s body years ago.
A fight breaks out between them, and in the chaos, Cooper accidentally stabs Jason, fatally wounding him. Monica, in a desperate attempt to cover up the crime, knocks Cooper unconscious with a kettlebell and takes his body with her. However, she doesn’t take the time to clean up the laptop or fully hide her tracks.
The Final Confrontation
Monica’s plan is far from foolproof, and things quickly spiral out of control. Colter and Keaton intervene just in time, stopping Monica from killing Cooper. Colter talks her down, urging her to reconsider her actions. He reminds her that there’s still time to turn things around, to not ruin her life by committing murder.
Despite Colter’s reassurance, Monica is clearly in deep trouble, and her actions will have consequences. It’s a tense moment, but it’s clear that Cooper, though he has accidentally killed Jason, is ultimately trying to do the right thing.
Lauren, who has been helping Colter throughout the investigation, arrives at the scene with Sam and hands over the twenty-five thousand-dollar reward that was promised for finding the missing friends. The episode ends with a bittersweet resolution. Colter has helped stop another tragedy, but the scars from the past still linger.
A Quiet Celebration
At the end of the episode, Reenie brings a bottle of champagne to Colter’s van to celebrate the resolution of the case. This is the second time she’s shared a quiet drink with Colter, and while nothing overtly romantic happens, there’s a subtle energy between them.
Their relationship has been evolving throughout the season, and this scene hints at the possibility of something more in the future. Colter, for the first time in a while, allows himself to relax in the company of someone he trusts.
As the season progresses, it seems that Colter and Reenie’s bond may grow stronger. The episode ends on a hopeful note, with Colter keeping a photo of Reenie on his phone, suggesting that their evolving relationship might lead to something deeper.
Tracker Season 2 airs on CBS on Sundays at 8:30 PM ET and is available for streaming next day on Paramount+.
