In Tracker Season 3, Episode 5, The Old Ways, Colter Shaw takes on the case of four missing teens, but the search quickly becomes personal. As he follows their trail, Colter discovers that Jayden was secretly meeting their biological father, Richard Sandford.
Richard left their family years earlier to live off the grid, and now he is trying to take the kids away with him. While tracking them through the woods, Colter begins to see parts of his own past in this situation.
He recognizes Richard’s stubborn belief that he is doing what is best, even when he is actually putting his children in danger. When Colter finally confronts Richard, he chooses not to fight. Instead, he speaks honestly about his own painful childhood and how harmful it can be.
His sincerity reaches Richard, who decides to walk away and let his kids return home. By helping the children through understanding and not force, Colter is able to face old memories and show how his past guides the way he solves cases today.
Inside Colter Shaw’s Complicated Relationship With His Father
Colter Shaw’s relationship with his father, Ashton Shaw, sits at the heart of Tracker, shaping nearly every aspect of the character’s identity. Portrayed by Justin Hartley, Colter embodies the skills, instincts, and emotional scars forged during a childhood spent under Ashton’s intense and often unsettling guidance.
Much like Richard in Tracker season 3, episode 5, Ashton (Lee Tergesen) isolated his family in a remote cabin, convinced they were being watched and persecuted. This off-the-grid life was framed as protection, but it also had instability.
Within this survivalist environment, Ashton drilled his children in tracking, self-reliance, and combat awareness. These lessons were valuable, yet they came wrapped in mystery and fear, leaving Colter unsure where legitimate caution ended and paranoia began.
Ashton became both teacher and puzzle, someone Colter admired for his abilities but questioned for his secrecy and volatility. As an adult, Colter’s work reveals how deeply he is still trying to understand the man who shaped him.
What Happened to Ashton Shaw in Tracker?
Ashton Shaw remains one of the most compelling mysteries in Tracker. Before becoming the paranoid survivalist viewers first hear about, Ashton lived a strikingly different life. He began as a lecturer in the Science Department at UC Berkeley, later becoming a professor and researcher in Environmental Science.
During this period, he was quietly recruited by the U.S. government to work on classified projects, eventually heading a top-secret program. Everything changed in 1992, when Ashton abruptly quit his work and moved his family to a remote part of California.
Throughout Seasons 1 and 2, the series gradually revealed that Ashton died from falling off a cliff. But in the Season 2 finale, Colter confronts Otto, a former colleague of Ashton’s, who confesses to pushing Ashton off the cliff.
Even more shocking, Otto claims he acted at the request of Colter’s mother, Mary, complicating Colter’s understanding of both parents. Otto also hints that Ashton had many enemies, suggesting his paranoia may have had real roots.
With Season 3 unfolding, Tracker is expected to explore the deeper truth behind Ashton’s transformation and the secrets that ultimately cost him his life.
What do you think really happened with Ashton Shaw in Tracker? What is Mary hiding from Colter? Share your thoughts with us.