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The Best Episodes of Without a Trace

Every episode of Without a Trace ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of Without a Trace!

Binge this in 4d 19h•Peaking at 8.8/10

The series follows the ventures of a Missing Persons Unit of the FBI in New York City.

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
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    Without a Trace Season 2 Episode 15 - Wannabe
    8.8/10(392 votes)

    #1 - Wannabe

    S2:E15

    A 12 year old boy (Jake Thomas) goes missing. The team discovers that the boy had a rough 24 hours leading up to his disappearance. He disappeared in the middle of the school day, the only clues a broken miror, a discarded hall pass, and blood on the wall....until a picture of him is sent around the school.

    Director:David Barrett
    Writer:Unknown

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  2. Without a Trace Season 4 Episode 8 - A Day in the Life
    8.6/10(291 votes)

    #2 - A Day in the Life

    S4:E8

    After young Shawn Hopkins disappears one night after leaving the arcade, his parents soon begin to believe that the team is not doing everything to find their daughter, and are shocked to learn that their son has been gambling and has also been seen with a local drug dealer. After learning that Shawn had taken up the cause of a friend who had been raped, Larry and Susan Hopkins are relieved to learn that their son wasn't doing anything wrong, but worried that he still might not come home.

    Director:Jeannot Szwarc
    Writer:Unknown

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  3. Without a Trace Season 1 Episode 13 - Hang On to Me
    8.5/10(297 votes)

    #3 - Hang On to Me

    S1:E13

    Chet Collins has been searching for his son since the boy was kidnapped four years earlier on a camping trip, and is the one case that Jack has never been able to forget. When Chet disappears, leaving behind only his wedding ring and the mountains of debt he had accumulated in his search, Jack will go to any lengths to find Collins and save him from himself.

    Director:Paul Holahan
    Writer:Unknown

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  4. Without a Trace Season 1 Episode 22 - Fall Out (1)
    8.3/10(270 votes)

    #4 - Fall Out (1)

    S1:E22

    With the aftershocks of Sept. 11 and man named Barry , who lost his wife that day and then his job soon after. The man lashes out at her former boss an employment-agency owner. Blaming her for his wife's death and his own failure to find a job, Barry kidnaps the woman for ransom.Then he demands the money be exchanged at a bookstore, but when the cash is delivers Berry is provoked and takes the store's patrons hostage. Among them is Samantha,and given Jack's affection for her complicates the negotiations.

    Director:Kevin Hooks
    Writer:Hank Steinberg

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  5. Without a Trace Season 1 Episode 23 - Fall Out (2)
    8.3/10(277 votes)

    #5 - Fall Out (2)

    S1:E23

    When the team tries to plot a strategy after they find out that Samantha has been shot and that she might be critically injured in the hostage crisis situation. Jack makes a deal with Berry so that Sam can get help and Jack goes in there and takes Sam's place.

    Director:Paul Holahan
    Writer:Hank Steinberg

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  6. Without a Trace Season 1 Episode 10 - Midnight Sun
    8.2/10(262 votes)

    #6 - Midnight Sun

    S1:E10

    When a man leaves his home in the morning with his daughter to take her to school and then to open his dry-cleaning store, but they both of they never make it there .

    Director:Michelle MacLaren
    Writer:Hank Steinberg

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    7. Trending NowTRENDING NOW

    The 20 WORST Episodes of Without a Trace

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  7. Without a Trace Season 1 Episode 5 - Suspect
    8.1/10(322 votes)

    #7 - Suspect

    S1:E5

    After telling his mother, he wanted to leave school for good, seventeen year old Andy Deaver vanishes from his private boarding school, last seen by it's headmaster, Graham Spaulding.

    Director:Peter Markle
    Writer:Allison Abner

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  8. Without a Trace Season 1 Episode 11 - Maple Street
    8.1/10(311 votes)

    #8 - Maple Street

    S1:E11

    Annie Miller disappears on her way to school. The group looks into her disappearance, with their suspects ranging from the local mayor, to Annie's godfather, all the way to a young man working for the father of her best friend. Twenty-four hours after Annie's disappearance, her best friend Siobhan Arintero also vanishes, leaving only a collection of videos to help find the two girls.

    Director:John McNaughton
    Writer:Maria Maggenti

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  9. Without a Trace Season 2 Episode 5 - Copycat
    8.1/10(242 votes)

    #9 - Copycat

    S2:E5

    Malone searches for a missing woman whose description matches those of a series of murder victims from a 12-year-old case only to learn that Graham Spaulding is pulling the strings, and drawing on incidents in Jack's past to lure him into a trap.

    Director:Tim Matheson
    Writer:Jennifer Levin

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  10. Without a Trace Season 2 Episode 20 - Shadows
    8.1/10(200 votes)

    #10 - Shadows

    S2:E20

    When Sam helps Martin search for his missing and terminally-ill aunt, they discover that she's been using her nursing skills to assist other dying patients in committing suicide; his father's Alzheimer's diagnosis prompts Jack to attempt a reconciliation.

    Director:Randall Zisk
    Writer:Unknown

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  11. Without a Trace Season 2 Episode 21 - Two Families
    8.1/10(231 votes)

    #11 - Two Families

    S2:E21

    When a father who goes missing while trying to prove that his son a death-row inmate who is scheduled to die in two days is innocence, The past 11 years of the missing Mans life have been devoted to proving that his son, was wrongly convicted of killing a young married couple in front of their daughter during a convenience story robbery. While the team does not rule out that the despondent man could have brought harm upon himself, the team members find themselves wondering if the man is right about his son innocence.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  12. Without a Trace Season 3 Episode 7 - Nickel and Dimed (2)
    8.1/10(197 votes)

    #12 - Nickel and Dimed (2)

    S3:E7

    To find a missing young mother who was recruited as a drug mule, Samantha goes undercover to lure the drug trafficker who recruited the young woman.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  13. Without a Trace Season 4 Episode 7 - The Innocents
    8.1/10(219 votes)

    #13 - The Innocents

    S4:E7

    The team worries about a grieving father who couldn't accept his daughter's death, especially after child pornography is found in his home.

    Director:Martha Mitchell
    Writer:Unknown

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  14. Without a Trace Season 1 Episode 12 - Underground Railroad
    8.0/10(265 votes)

    #14 - Underground Railroad

    S1:E12

    Jack and the team search for a pregnant woman, Kathy Dobson, who disappeared from a hospital before being told that she has serious complications. As the detectives race against time to find Kathy, their investigation gradually reveals that Kathy's seemingly happy life actually hasn't been going very well. She is eight-and-a-half months pregnant and, under the tight control of her husband Paul, has withdrawn from her family and friends. Paul's brother Ritchie, who has been following Kathy and providing Paul with addresses she visits, lists a woman who may be affiliated with an ""underground railroad"" that helps battered women. When the team members find the woman, they learn that she has been assaulted by Paul—but she still refuses to lead them to Kathy.

    Director:Tom McLoughlin
    Writer:Hank Steinberg

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  15. Without a Trace Season 4 Episode 17 - Check Your Head
    8.0/10(289 votes)

    #15 - Check Your Head

    S4:E17

    The team tries to track down a reclusive columnist who hadn't left her apartment in months and was communicating with numerous prisoners.

    Director:Timothy Busfield
    Writer:Diego Gutierrez

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  16. Without a Trace Season 5 Episode 1 - Stolen
    8.0/10(215 votes)

    #16 - Stolen

    S5:E1

    Bryan Parker is questioned by the FBI after being found alone on the road by a police officer, his hand bandaged. He tells them about a young boy his father had abducted, and soon the team is searching for Todd. The search initially goes nowhere, and Sam continues to question Bryan, but they get a lead when Bryan identifies a snapshot of the boy that reveals his identity to be that of missing boy Daniel Ellison. It isn't long before the squad realises that Daniel isn't the first boy that Parker grabbed, and follow his past to find him and the missing boy.

    Director:Randall Zisk
    Writer:David Amann

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  17. Without a Trace Season 2 Episode 23 - Lost and Found
    7.9/10(201 votes)

    #17 - Lost and Found

    S2:E23

    When the team searches whether foul play was involved in the adoption of a 16-year-old girl who went missing back in 1991 shows up at the FBI offices with an article she found online, which makes her believe she was kidnapped as a young child. Meanwhile, Jack tells the team he's moving to Chicago with his family.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  18. Without a Trace Season 3 Episode 6 - Nickel and Dimed (1)
    7.9/10(205 votes)

    #18 - Nickel and Dimed (1)

    S3:E6

    A young mother disappears after leaving her three year old son with a babysitter.

    Director:Martha Mitchell
    Writer:David Amann

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  19. Without a Trace Season 4 Episode 23 - White Balance
    7.9/10(257 votes)

    #19 - White Balance

    S4:E23

    Jack finds himself in the hotseat when a young white woman and a young black man, go missing on the same night and Jack is ordered to put more of the team's resources into finding the young woman.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Greg Walker

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  20. Without a Trace Season 7 Episode 15 - Chameleon
    7.9/10(147 votes)

    #20 - Chameleon

    S7:E15

    The team uncovers a history of deception as they search for a man posing as a college student vanishes.

    Director:Eric Close
    Writer:Unknown

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  21. Without a Trace Season 7 Episode 17 - Voir Dire
    7.9/10(110 votes)

    #21 - Voir Dire

    S7:E17

    While working on a high profile civil case, a trial consultant vanishes. Jack and Sam learn how to make adjustments as Brian and Finn spend more time together.

    Director:Jonathan Kaplan
    Writer:Unknown

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  22. Without a Trace Season 1 Episode 16 - Clare de Lune
    7.8/10(266 votes)

    #22 - Clare de Lune

    S1:E16

    A girl vanishes from a psychiatric hospital, and it appears she may have escaped with a staff member. Then the team learns of a troubling incident from her past that may hold the key to her disappearance.

    Director:Mel Damski
    Writer:Allison Abner

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  23. Without a Trace Season 1 Episode 21 - Are You Now Or Have You Ever Been?
    7.8/10(228 votes)

    #23 - Are You Now Or Have You Ever Been?

    S1:E21

    Jack's methods for investigation of child molester could result in the case being kicked out of court. Then on top of that, the Office of Professional Responsibility decides to investigate the team, but their real target is Jack

    Director:Peter Markle
    Writers:Ed Redlich, Harry Litman

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  24. Without a Trace Season 2 Episode 16 - Risen
    7.8/10(208 votes)

    #24 - Risen

    S2:E16

    A new lead reveals details about a missing woman's sexual history.

    Director:Tony Wharmby
    Writer:Unknown

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  25. Without a Trace Season 3 Episode 8 - Doppelgänger: Part 2
    7.8/10(167 votes)

    #25 - Doppelgänger: Part 2

    S3:E8

    When a homeless woman disappears from a shelter, the team is forced to re-examine the case of twin brothers Greg and Rick Knowles. Five months earlier (Doppelganger), Greg Knowles had confessed to a series of brutal murders, but the team was always convinced that it was Rick who had actually performed the killings. When Greg is released from jail and exonerated of the crimes, the team has to work against the clock to prove that Rick is the guilty party and to save one twin from the other.

    Director:Timothy Busfield
    Writer:Unknown

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Best Episodes Summary

"Wannabe" is the best rated episode of "Without a Trace". It scored 8.8/10 based on 392 votes. Directed by David Barrett and written by Unknown, it aired on 2/12/2004. This episode scored 0.2 points higher than the second highest rated, "A Day in the Life".