Jensen Ackles returns as Russell on 'Tracker' and reunites with Colter over a kidnapping case

Russell comes back

Colter Shaw had not heard from his brother in months, and then Russell called. ^[1] Jensen Ackles returned as Russell in Tracker Season 4 Episode 5, and Colter reunites with Russell on the Sunday, November 1 episode. ^[2][1]

Justin Hartley plays Colter, a professional tracker who travels across the United States taking assignments to locate missing individuals. ^[3] Tracker made its debut on CBS on February 11, 2024. ^[3]

Where Russell left off

Russell ended the last season accepting shady work in exchange for the rewardist not finding out what is in a file about what their father did to him. ^[1] In the Season 3 finale, he called Reenie to pass a message to Colter saying he had to go away for a while and Colter must not know why. ^[1]

Russell also promised Reenie that when he got clear of all this, he would find her and give her all the details. ^[1] Fiona Rene returns as Reenie Greene in Season 4. ^[3]

The kidnapping case

Russell's friend Grant (played by Jeff Pierre) needed help when his wife and daughter were kidnapped. ^[1] The kidnappers wanted Grant to retract a report on an explosion during his last tour. ^[1]

Grant thought his mission was just a convoy with medical supplies, but it was actually holding a proprietary weapon. ^[1] A reported malfunction would cost the company that made it a lot of money, and Grant's partner on the mission retracted the report but was killed. ^[1]

Once Russell was back stateside, he met up with Colter to work the case. ^[1] Grant tried to stall for time by prolonging the retraction process and also fought off the man sent to make sure he did what he was told. ^[1]

How it ends

Russell and Grant put the unconscious man in the trunk of a car. ^[1] Colter took the CEO of the company behind the kidnapping hostage and forced him to bring them to the ranch where Grant's family was being held. ^[1]

Reenie assured Russell his name would not be in any reports linked to the case, and Grant was cleared of any wrongdoing. ^[1] When Reenie heard Russell was back, she had told Randy to keep her posted. ^[1]

Reenie, Colter and the question of leaving

Reenie called Russell, who acknowledged he had gone dark and returned without a word. ^[1] She said she just wanted to make sure he was OK. ^[1]

After Grant's family was rescued and the right people were in cuffs, Colter wondered if Russell was going to disappear again. ^[1] Russell said he had bills to pay, brushing off remarks about surfing, which he had claimed to be doing when he first called. ^[1]

Russell offered to stick around and get dinner with Reenie, and she seemingly accepted. ^[1] He also stayed long enough to grab beers with Colter at a bar, not in Colter's Airstream. ^[1]