The latest episode of Tracker brought fans closer to the mystery surrounding the death of Colter Shaw’s father. Season 3 Episode 18, titled Alaskan Wild, aired on CBS on April 26, 2026. In this episode, Colter travels to the remote woods of Brineport, Alaska, to find a man named Buck Avery. He believes Buck holds the secrets to what his father, Ashton Shaw, was doing right before he died 20 years ago.
Colter is not just working for money this time. This mission is very personal. While searching for answers, he runs into a teenager whose parents have gone missing. This forces Colter to balance his family quest with a dangerous rescue operation in the wilderness.
Colter Follows a Government Secret to Alaska
The episode begins with Colter hiking deep into the Alaska wilderness to find Buck Avery. Colter explains that he has been reading his father’s old journals. He discovers that Ashton was a professor at Berkeley, but suddenly lost his job and moved the family to a remote compound.
Buck confirms that he knew Ashton. He tells Colter that the government leased his family’s land to run a secret lab. This lab was funded by DARPA, a government agency that works on advanced technology. Buck says the lab was doing experiments on the weather and the northern lights.
The name of the project was the Chronostasis Institute. Buck admits that an accident happened at the lab, which forced the government to shut it down immediately. He does not know the details of the accident, but he knows Ashton was there when it happened. Buck gives Colter a name to follow: Dr. Serena Jukic, a researcher who worked at the lab and might still be alive.
A Teenager’s Parents Get Caught in a Drug Dealer’s Fight
After talking to Buck, Colter returns to his trailer. There, he catches a teenager named Ian trying to break into a truck. Ian explains that his parents, Vera and Hal, are missing. They went out on their boat and never came back.
Ian has no money to pay Colter, but Colter agrees to help anyway. With the help of his tech expert, Randy, Colter tracks the boat to a dangerous area known for drug activity. When Colter searches for the couple, he finds a cabin where a shootout happened.
Colter learns that Vera and Hal were taken by two criminals named TJ and Molly. Molly is the ex-girlfriend of a dangerous drug lord named Wyatt Griffin. Molly and TJ stole a large amount of drugs from Wyatt and used Hal and Vera’s boat to escape.
Colter Saves the Hostages in a Deadly Shootout
As Colter tracks the group through the forest, things get worse. Wyatt Griffin catches up to them and shoots Hal in the shoulder. TJ and Molly leave Hal behind because he is injured and slowing them down. They force Vera to keep walking with them.
Colter finds Hal and stops his bleeding. Hal insists on coming with Colter to save his wife, even though he is hurt, because he knows the land better than anyone else. The chase ends at an old, abandoned cannery. TJ tries to make a deal with Wyatt to save his own life. He gives up Molly’s location in exchange for safety.
Molly fights back against Wyatt, but he overpowers her. Just as Wyatt is about to kill Molly, Vera attacks him from behind. During the fight, Wyatt’s gun goes off, which alerts Colter. Colter arrives just in time, attacks Wyatt, and pushes him through a broken floor, resulting in Wyatt’s death.
In the end, Ian is reunited with his parents. Colter refuses to take money from the poor family. Instead, he tells Ian to pay it forward in the future when he finishes college.
Reenie Faces Danger Back at Home
While Colter is fighting in Alaska, his friend and lawyer Reenie faces her own threat back home. A strange man drops off a package at her law office. Inside the package are pictures of Reenie working out, walking around town, and going about her daily life.
This happens after a judge allowed Reenie and her partner Maxine to add wrongful death charges to a big lawsuit they are working on. Reenie becomes very scared. She buys a gun to protect herself. This story is likely to become very important in the next episodes before the season ends.
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The Episode Sets Up the Return of Jensen Ackles
The biggest news from Episode 18 is the setup for the season finale. After saving the family, Colter calls his brother, Russell Shaw. Russell is played by actor Jensen Ackles, known for his role in Supernatural. In the voicemail, Colter says:
“It’s your favorite brother. Listen, I don’t know where in the world you might be right now, but I found out who dad was working with before he died. It runs pretty deep, government cover-up. I got a name. Serena Euckidge. Was thinking you might want to help me track her down. Alright, call me back.”
This voicemail confirms that Jensen Ackles will return for the Season 3 finale on May 24, 2026. The finale is titled The Best Ones. According to CBS, the episode will show Colter and Russell searching for a victim of a bad research project. Fans are very excited to see the two brothers working together again.
The Tracker Season 3 Episode 18 cast included Justin Hartley as Colter Shaw, Michael O’Neill as Buck Avery, and guest stars including Brad Beyer and Levi Meadan.
