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The Worst Episodes of Without a Trace

Every episode of Without a Trace ranked from worst to best. Explore the Worst Episodes of Without a Trace!

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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 Worst Episode
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    Without a Trace Season 2 Episode 12 - Hawks and Handsaws
    3.3/10(3 votes)

    #1 - Hawks and Handsaws

    S2:E12

    The team searches for a missing criminal defense attorney. While investigating the man's life, Jack begins to believe that his recent behavior is the result of paranoid schizophrenia.

    Director:Kevin Hooks
    Writer:Unknown

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  2. Without a Trace Season 2 Episode 22 - The Season
    3.3/10(3 votes)

    #2 - The Season

    S2:E22

    The team Looks for a college football coach who goes missing after being fired for his role in the team's dismal season performance,but the investigation soon uncovers that the Coach new policy of suspending players who have academic and behavioral issues caused the football team to repeatedly play without its main players and suffer defeats due to this rule. As a result of this, The team begin to suspect that it was some of the angry players, or members of the school administration and even a high-stakes gambler who all are facing financial losses resulting from the teams losing streak. Meanwhile, Malone must make a difficult decision when his wife surprises him with her strong desire to relocate their family to Chicago, where she has just been offered a superb job opportunity

    Director:Tim Matheson
    Writer:Unknown

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  3. Without a Trace Season 3 Episode 22 - John Michaels
    3.3/10(3 votes)

    #3 - John Michaels

    S3:E22

    John Michaels is a 71-year-old insurance investigator who went missing after last being seen getting into a car with two strange men. While investigating his disappearance, the team finds that he had recently tried to make amends with his ex-wife and has been trying desperately to get his older daughter on the straight and narrow. Things get strange in the case though, and all is not as it seems.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  4. Without a Trace Season 2 Episode 18 - Legacy
    4.0/10(3 votes)

    #4 - Legacy

    S2:E18

    The team searches for a man who goes missing after leaving his wife's hair salon to deposit the day's earnings following an argument with her. Meanwhile, Danny resists getting pulled back into the life of his convict brother who is up for parole, and Martin's impending firearms qualifications test dredges up unsettling memories for him.

    Director:Tim Matheson
    Writers:Maria Maggenti, Allison Abner

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  5. Without a Trace Season 5 Episode 2 - Candy
    4.0/10(3 votes)

    #5 - Candy

    S5:E2

    Cindy Peterson, a mother who had become a stripper to support her family, goes missing after work one night, and Jack sends Elena in undercover at the strip club to learn what she can. Danny moves in to keep an eye on her after someone catches on to her spying, while Vivian discovers that Jim Peterson hasn't been completely honest with them. Jack faces censure from Olczyk over his relationship with Ann, and is angry with Ann after she admits to him that she thinks he let their relationship cloud his judgment in the Davis investigation.

    Director:Jonathan Kaplan
    Writer:Unknown

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  6. Without a Trace Season 5 Episode 22 - One and Only
    4.0/10(3 votes)

    #6 - One and Only

    S5:E22

    The team searches for Chris Manning, a family court judge with a soft side who went missing after meeting with a young boy caught between his mother and his abusive father. Suspicion initially turns anyone Manning may have riled up due to his court rulings, but after his clerk is shot in what appears to be an attempt on Manning's life, the team learns that the secret behind Manning's disappearance is tied up with something that happened over twenty years earlier.

    Director:Kate Woods
    Writer:Unknown

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  7. Without a Trace Season 5 Episode 6 - The Calm Before
    4.5/10(2 votes)

    #7 - The Calm Before

    S5:E6

    The team investigates when Aaron Gibbs ends up missing one night and soon learn that he had been lying to his wife about quitting his job, and had been working nights in a fight club. During the course of the investigation, Jack and the others learn that Aaron's disappearance was connected to events that took place during Hurricane Katrina, when Aaron was fighting to save his sons, and follow the trail of evidence, believing that the events of that night in New Orleans hold the key to finding the truth about the missing man.

    Director:Peter Markle
    Writer:Unknown

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  8. Without a Trace Season 2 Episode 6 - Sons and Daughters
    5.0/10(4 votes)

    #8 - Sons and Daughters

    S2:E6

    When a high school sex-scandal leads to murder it is the team's job to figure out who did it and why.

    Director:Paul Holahan
    Writer:John Bellucci

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  9. Without a Trace Season 2 Episode 16 - Risen
    5.0/10(4 votes)

    #9 - Risen

    S2:E16

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

    Director:Tony Wharmby
    Writer:Unknown

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  10. Without a Trace Season 3 Episode 1 - In the Dark
    5.0/10(4 votes)

    #10 - In the Dark

    S3:E1

    The team searches for a recently blinded girl and her companion who disappeared during a camping trip. Vivian takes over as the supervisor, while Jack struggles to say goodbye to his family.

    Director:Paul Holahan
    Writer:Unknown

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  11. Without a Trace Season 3 Episode 6 - Nickel and Dimed (1)
    5.0/10(4 votes)

    #11 - 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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  12. Without a Trace Season 1 Episode 6 - Silent Partner
    5.2/10(6 votes)

    #12 - Silent Partner

    S1:E6

    Patrick Kent, a Vice-President of a New York investment-banking firm, vanishes from a San Diego airport, only leaving behind two empty suitcases.

    Director:Randall Zisk
    Writer:Greg Walker

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  13. Without a Trace Season 1 Episode 7 - Snatch Back
    5.2/10(5 votes)

    #13 - Snatch Back

    S1:E7

    Abby, the three-year-old daughter of ADA Angela Buckman and her NYU lecturer husband Matthew, vanishes while in the park with her nanny.

    Director:Leslie Libman
    Writer:Stacy Rukeyser

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  14. Without a Trace Season 1 Episode 3 - He Saw, She Saw
    5.5/10(6 votes)

    #14 - He Saw, She Saw

    S1:E3

    Four different witnesses claim that a woman was abducted from a mall parking lot while her husband was standing just yards away with his back turned to her.

    Director:Rachel Talalay
    Writer:Jan Nash

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  15. Without a Trace Season 2 Episode 19 - Doppelgänger
    5.6/10(5 votes)

    #15 - Doppelgänger

    S2:E19

    The team investigates a missing woman's boyfriend, with whom she lived. However, they determine that he has a twin brother and quickly turn their attention to him.

    Director:Andy Wolk
    Writer:Unknown

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  16. Without a Trace Season 5 Episode 23 - Two of Us
    6.5/10(2 votes)

    #16 - Two of Us

    S5:E23

    A high school student goes missing after leaving her prom early to get some rest in her hotel room, leaving behind a bloody dress and a lot of questions about what may have happened to her.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  17. Without a Trace Season 7 Episode 9 - Push Comes to Shove
    6.8/10(104 votes)

    #17 - Push Comes to Shove

    S7:E9

    The team must decide whether or not a doctor's past is a factor in her disappearance.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Diego Gutierrez

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  18. Without a Trace Season 4 Episode 5 - Honor Bound
    6.9/10(177 votes)

    #18 - Honor Bound

    S4:E5

    Wendy Kim goes missing during her shift at the family deli, and the team gets involved to find out what happened to the young Korean woman. It isn't long before they learn that Wendy had recently broken off an engagement to a young Korean man her parents were very supportive of, and that she had recently been doing a lot of on-line dating and had gotten herself involved with the wrong kind of men, including one who wouldn't take no for an answer.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  19. Without a Trace Season 4 Episode 12 - Patient X
    6.9/10(161 votes)

    #19 - Patient X

    S4:E12

    After therapist Gina Hill disappears, the team investigates and initially suspects that one of her patients may be involved. After discussions with Gina's fiancé and her own therapist, the team follows the trail of clues to a bartender named Vince with an unusual ability to get good women to do whatever he wants them to. Martin continues to struggle with his recovery.

    Director:Timothy Busfield
    Writer:David Amann

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  20. Without a Trace Season 4 Episode 19 - Expectations
    6.9/10(172 votes)

    #20 - Expectations

    S4:E19

    Megan Sullivan is H.I.V. positive, pregnant and missing. Initially the team suspects that her husband, who seemed to be less than thrilled about the baby, is involved, but soon learn that Megan had received a call from a prison, and their search tracks them to a former lover, who gave her H.I.V., her husband's former mistress, who had seen her taking part in a tense conversation not long before she vanished, and her own H.I.V. specialist, who had recently given her bad news. Martin thanks Danny for his help, and tells him that he is continuing to seek counseling for his addiction.

    Director:Rosemary Rodriguez
    Writer:Unknown

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  21. Without a Trace Season 6 Episode 3 - Res Ipsa
    6.9/10(125 votes)

    #21 - Res Ipsa

    S6:E3

    The team searches for a missing mother who they believe may be searching for her son, who is also missing.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Greg Walker

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  22. Without a Trace Season 2 Episode 11 - Exposure
    7.0/10(2 votes)

    #22 - Exposure

    S2:E11

    The team has a wealth of suspects from which to choose as they search for a missing paparazzo who felt responsible when one of his pictures outing a TV star led to the actor's ruin and eventual suicide, and vowed to redeem himself and his career by helping an environmental watchdog group expose a corporation's cancer-causing pollution.

    Director:Charles Correll
    Writer:Unknown

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  23. Without a Trace Season 2 Episode 21 - Two Families
    7.0/10(2 votes)

    #23 - 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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  24. Without a Trace Season 2 Episode 24 - Bait
    7.0/10(2 votes)

    #24 - Bait

    S2:E24

    The team searches for a mother and her two children, who are last seen boarding a yacht which is later found adrift in New York's Harbor with only its dead captain aboard. Meanwhile, Malone gets ready to leave the team and move with his family to Chicago.

    Director:Paul Holahan
    Writer:Greg Walker

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  25. Without a Trace Season 4 Episode 21 - Shattered
    7.0/10(188 votes)

    #25 - Shattered

    S4:E21

    The team searches for a teenage figure skater who disappears after practice one day and discover that many people in her life had reason to worry. The team's investigation leads to the rink's operator, a convicted rapist who was the last to see the girl.

    Director:Jeannot Szwarc
    Writer:David H. Goodman

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Worst Episodes Summary

"Hawks and Handsaws" is the worst rated episode of "Without a Trace". It scored 3.3/10 based on 3 votes. Directed by Kevin Hooks and written by Unknown, it aired on 1/15/2004. This episode scored 0.0 points lower than the second lowest rated, "The Season".