Tracker airs tonight on CBS with an all-new Sunday, November 16, 2025, season 3 episode 5 called “The Old Ways,” and we have your Tracker recap below.
In tonight’s Tracker episode as per the CBS synopsis, “When four teens vanish during a hike in the Santa Cruz Mountains, Colter’s search uncovers a hidden agenda behind their journey, leading him to an off-grid community where all their lives are put in danger.”
Tonight’s episode is going to be great and you won’t want to miss it, so be sure to tune in for our Tracker recap between 8:00 PM – 9:00 PM ET! While you wait for the recap make sure to check out all our television recaps, news, spoilers & more, right here!
Tonight’s Tracker recap begins now – Refresh Page often to get the most current updates!
In tonight’s Tracker episode, Four teenagers went missing on a hiking trail. Laurel Park was huge. There was no way that search and rescue could cover the entirety of the park by themselves.
They were going to need help. This was why the parents of two of the kids hired Colter Shaw. He was a tracker. He knew how to find people in horrible conditions. The parents of Sara and Jaden said Jaden was familiar with the trail. Sara was not. She has asthma. She doesn’t typically do the hiking trails and she only wanted to do it this time because the family was moving away.
Their mother got a job offer in Hong Kong. The kids were taking it hard. Jaden especially wanted to stay with his friends. Sara was making her peace with it and so she wanted to leave town with one last hurrah.
She came up with the idea of hiking the trail. She got involved in some urban legends. She went down Reddit rabbit hole and wanted to investigate the truth of the matter. It didn’t matter to her that she wasn’t experienced with the job. She pulled her brother as well as her friends into entering a dangerous as well as closed off area of the park.
It was closed off because it was prone to experiencing landslides. No true hiker would go there. The last person to follow that urban legend had been seriously injured in the area. Sara didn’t have the same type of experience and yet she convinced everyone to go with her into dangerous territory. It was her idea.
Her brother tried to convince her to turn back. It was Sara that kept pushing. She was the one most at danger and she couldn’t see it. Colter later found one of their friends. His name is Charlie.
Charlie fell because even he wasn’t experienced enough the trail. His friends went to go get help. They left him some supplies while they did so and that’s when Colter’s new friend warned about what’s up ahead. Search and Rescue’s Luke Parsons went with Colter to find the kids. He called in a medevac for Charlie.
There was still three missing and Colter wanted to pursue them on foot. Luke had to warn him that up ahead were a lot of illegal growth operations. It was considered lawless territory. That’s what Sara dragged everyone into.
Colter just by himself still managed to find trouble. He ran into an illegal growing op. He had to fight two guys, stared down a third with his gun, and intimidate a teenager before he got answers. There was a man with the three tens. He had a gun. He stole one of their trucks. Colter had found Jaden’s cell phone. He was using the messaging app called Wiisp. It a shadier version of WhatsApp. Jaden was using that app to message his biological father. His bio dad left the picture ten years ago and his mother remarried.
Jaden reached out his dad when he heard about them moving to Hong Kong. His sister’s thirst for adventure played into what their dad actually wanted. Their dad wanted to abduct them. He wanted to take them off the grid. Richard abandoned his family ten years ago with seemingly no regrets. He never tried to contact them.
He hasn’t been watching them from afar. He disappeared into the woods and he was fine by himself. It was Jaden who reached out to him. He was curious. He was at the age where he had questions about his dad and what exactly happened ten years ago.
Jaden never set anything up. He told his father about the hike that Sara planned. It was just going to be one last hurrah. His father then used that chance to abduct him. He was a danger to his kids. He was also a danger to Brooke. Brooke who didn’t even want to go on the hike in the first place.
Luckily, Sara’s asthma acted up. Their dad Richard tried to use homeopathic remedies that only made things worse. He then robbed an ambulance. He got something for Sara. He left behind Brooke with the EMTs.
Colter and a newly returned Luke found them. They reassured Brooke that Charlie was safe. He was taken to the hospital in time. They had also searched Richard’s cabin that they found nearby. It had been deserted. Richard was going to start over in a new cabin with his kids. Colter and Luke found them.
Luke stayed with the kids while Colter spoke with Richard. He was honest with him. He told him that he either goes to prison or die in front of the kids. Either way he’d only hurt them more than he already has.
Richard was not mentally well. Its why he disappeared. He could start over with just two kids. Only the kids were going to need something more. Colter eventually talked Richard into a third option. One where he just leaves and never looks back. Richard took it knowing it was in his children’s best interests. Richard got to escape back into the forest. His children got to return to their mother and a stepfather who’s pretty supportive.
Colter didn’t need to get paid for this one, but the kids’ mother insisted because he went above and beyond in what turned out to be a custodial battle.
And Randy officially moved to Denver to assist Reenie. She got a great new associate and she was still run down. So, any help will be beneficial.
THE END!