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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 5 Episode 10 - The Thing with Feathers
    6.5/10(145 votes)

    #1 - The Thing with Feathers

    S5:E10

    Vivian thinks about her recent surgical problems while searching for a missing woman with a terminal condition.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  2. Without a Trace Season 5 Episode 12 - Tail Spin
    6.6/10(158 votes)

    #2 - Tail Spin

    S5:E12

    The team tries to determine whether or not the recent disappearance of an air traffic controller has connections to the Middle East. The team soon learns that his wife died in an automobile accident and he was having an affair with her sister.

    Director:Peter Markle
    Writer:Diego Gutierrez

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  3. Without a Trace Season 5 Episode 13 - Eating Away
    6.6/10(141 votes)

    #3 - Eating Away

    S5:E13

    Barry Rosen goes missing shortly after being poisoned with bleach in a chili eating contest. While investigating Barry's disappearance, the team soon learns that he had been approached to throw the eating contest, and also that he had been spending a lot of time with a local prostitute in an effort to learn how to act around women. Danny is caught in the middle when Carlos asks him for a letter of reference in an upcoming custody review, and Elena informs him that Carlos is actually suing her for sole custody of Sofie. Danny warns Carlos that he is not going to be caught in the middle.

    Director:Martha Mitchell
    Writer:Unknown

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  4. Without a Trace Season 3 Episode 22 - John Michaels
    6.7/10(254 votes)

    #4 - 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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  5. Without a Trace Season 4 Episode 12 - Patient X
    6.8/10(161 votes)

    #5 - 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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  6. Without a Trace Season 5 Episode 15 - Desert Springs
    6.8/10(139 votes)

    #6 - Desert Springs

    S5:E15

    The team searches for missing water plant supervisor Jason Turner, and learn that he had become the target of a lot of anger after recent layoffs at the plant. Carlos comes to the office looking for Elena.

    Director:Eriq La Salle
    Writer:David Amann

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  7. Without a Trace Season 5 Episode 21 - Crash and Burn
    6.8/10(140 votes)

    #7 - Crash and Burn

    S5:E21

    A former soldier, now stuntman, goes missing and the team learns that he changed his will only short time before he went missing which makes them wonder who needed the money.

    Director:John Polson
    Writer:Unknown

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  8. Without a Trace Season 7 Episode 9 - Push Comes to Shove
    6.8/10(103 votes)

    #8 - 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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  9. Without a Trace Season 1 Episode 20 - No Mas
    6.9/10(212 votes)

    #9 - No Mas

    S1:E20

    The team find themselves up against the ropes as multiple mysteries arise in the case of a boxer. Dante Jones disappears moments before a bout with a $500,000 purse that which could have made him a title contender. Jack suspects it's stunt, but Vivian, a Jones fan, can't believe that the charity-loving, straight-arrow fighter would go doewn that low road. The search goes in a new direction when his younger brother who he is always bailing out of trouble, vanishes. Then it's learned he has made 2 million dollers in the past five years,but he only has $6000 in his bank account.

    Director:Paul Holahan
    Writer:Greg Walker

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  10. Without a Trace Season 4 Episode 5 - Honor Bound
    6.9/10(179 votes)

    #10 - 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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  11. Without a Trace Season 4 Episode 19 - Expectations
    6.9/10(171 votes)

    #11 - 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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  12. Without a Trace Season 5 Episode 9 - Watch Over Me
    6.9/10(157 votes)

    #12 - Watch Over Me

    S5:E9

    The team investigates the disappearance of social worker Eric Hayes, who had given thirty days notice to his job not long before. When their investigation leads them to a young pregnant woman who had already lost one child to the system, the agents begin to believe the disillusioned social worker may have been having an affair but soon discover that he may have been trying to right the wrong that drove him from his job. Danny has trouble with the investigation, as it reminds him of his own experience in foster care. Jack confides in Samantha about his relationship with Ann, but it may be too late.

    Director:Bobby Roth
    Writer:Unknown

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  13. Without a Trace Season 5 Episode 22 - One and Only
    6.9/10(140 votes)

    #13 - 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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  14. Without a Trace Season 6 Episode 3 - Res Ipsa
    6.9/10(124 votes)

    #14 - 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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  15. Without a Trace Season 4 Episode 21 - Shattered
    7.0/10(187 votes)

    #15 - 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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  16. Without a Trace Season 5 Episode 7 - All the Sinners, Saints
    7.0/10(161 votes)

    #16 - All the Sinners, Saints

    S5:E7

    Martin brings the team in on the hunt for a young woman that went missing after a priest attempted to exorcise a demon from her. He begins to feel guilty when he finds out he used to work with her, but doesn't remember her.

    Director:Martha Mitchell
    Writer:Unknown

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  17. Without a Trace Season 5 Episode 11 - Fade-Away
    7.0/10(166 votes)

    #17 - Fade-Away

    S5:E11

    When 17-year-old Ted Soros goes missing after a basketball game, the team begins an investigation, soon learning that Ted was an emancipated minor who was living on his own to attend a school with an exemplary basketball program. Learning he had recently contacted his mother with a request for legal advice from an uncle, the team begins to suspect that Ted may have done something that he could face criminal charges for, and realise that Ted's secret is connected to a university recruiting party. While the team works Ted's disappearance, Jack learns from Ann that she lost the baby, and waits for her at the clinic while she seeks medical attention.

    Director:Jonathan Kaplan
    Writer:Unknown

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  18. Without a Trace Season 7 Episode 10 - Cloudy With a Chance Of Gettysburg
    7.0/10(110 votes)

    #18 - Cloudy With a Chance Of Gettysburg

    S7:E10

    A TV weatherman arrives at work bleeding from his side and the team tries to beat the clock to find out what that has to do with disappearance.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Gwendolyn M. Parker

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  19. Without a Trace Season 1 Episode 17 - Kam Li
    7.1/10(224 votes)

    #19 - Kam Li

    S1:E17

    They search for a retired U.S. Army officer who has disappeared right after a dinner that was given in his honor by former members of his Vietnam platoon

    Director:Randall Zisk
    Writer:Jacob Epstein

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  20. Without a Trace Season 4 Episode 9 - Freefall
    7.1/10(181 votes)

    #20 - Freefall

    S4:E9

    Max Cassidy vanishes after leaving a message on his wife's voicemail, with both Jack and Ann frantic to find him. While investigating, Jack realises that Max was having an affair, and that he's gotten much deeper into a case than he should have following the murder of his partner, Jimmy, a man Max had felt was too green for undercover work. Both Jack and Ann fear the worst as the team tries to hunt down Max.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  21. Without a Trace Season 4 Episode 11 - Blood Out
    7.1/10(168 votes)

    #21 - Blood Out

    S4:E11

    The team investigates when a young paramedic with gang ties disappears. Jack and Ann bond over their recent losses.

    Directors:Eric Close, Marianne Jean-Baptiste
    Writer:Unknown

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  22. Without a Trace Season 5 Episode 5 - The Damage Done
    7.1/10(175 votes)

    #22 - The Damage Done

    S5:E5

    Jack and the team investigate when Sadik Marku's son goes missing along with the boy's mother, and Samantha worries that Jack is more interested in settling an old score with Marku than with finding the missing woman and boy.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  23. Without a Trace Season 5 Episode 6 - The Calm Before
    7.1/10(180 votes)

    #23 - 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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  24. Without a Trace Season 5 Episode 14 - Primed
    7.1/10(176 votes)

    #24 - Primed

    S5:E14

    When a young artist disappears, the team is concerned that one of her subjects may have been unhappy with her work.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  25. Without a Trace Season 5 Episode 20 - Skin Deep
    7.1/10(142 votes)

    #25 - Skin Deep

    S5:E20

    When a young, interracial boy goes missing, race and money appear to play the starring roles in the investigation.

    Director:Eric Close
    Writer:Unknown

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Worst Episodes Summary

"The Thing with Feathers" is the worst rated episode of "Without a Trace". It scored 6.5/10 based on 145 votes. Directed by Unknown and written by Unknown, it aired on 12/3/2006. This episode scored 0.1 points lower than the second lowest rated, "Tail Spin".