History Series / WithoutATrace

* MistakenForCheating: "Midnight Sun" features as the victim Greg Pritchard, supposedly a loving family man but whom witnesses soon report having seen at a diner in the company of an attractive young woman. However, a trace on the woman's credit card reveals the truth: [[spoiler: she is a deputy U.S. Marshal, and Pritchard's handler in the Witness Protection Program.]]

* AdultFear: And ''how''. A loved one, especially a child, disappearing and possibly turning up dead.

* InfantImmortality: Both [[DeathOfAChild averted]] and played straight. Children and teens turn up missing in quite a few episodes, and their turning up alive is ''never'' guaranteed.

!![[SimilarlyNamedWorks You may be looking]] for ''Film/{{Without a Trace|1983}}'', a 1983 drama film directed by [[Creator/StanleyRJaffe Stanley R. Jaffe]].

!![[SimilarlyNamedWorks You may be looking]] for ''Film/{{Without a Trace|1983}}'', a 1983 drama film by [[Creator/StanleyRJaffe Stanley R. Jaffe]].

Not to be confused with ''Film/WithoutATrace1983'', a 1983 movie starring Creator/JuddHirsch and Creator/StockardChanning.

Not to be confused with the 1983 movie ''Film/WithoutATrace'' starring Creator/JuddHirsch and Creator/StockardChanning.

Not to be confused with the 1983 movie ''Film/WithoutATrace''starring Creator/JuddHirsch and Creator/StockardChanning.

!!This show provides examples of:

* WhatTheHellHero: In the Season 4 episode "White Balance," Jack gets this from both Vivian and the mother of a teenage black boy who's gone missing at the same time as a teenage white girl--the reason being that, under pressure from his superiors, Jack has [[MissingWhiteWomanSyndrome placed more emphasis on finding the girl.]] When the mother confronts him in his office, Jack tries to explain that the directives for the case are out of his hands, but she fires back:
--> '''Mother:''' Let me tell you what the real issue is here, Mr. Malone. My ''black'' son's life isn't half as important as that ''white'' girl's!

--> '''Jack:''' I was just trying to do what I thought was right.
--> '''Samantha:''' How long are you going to keep using that as an excuse to screw people over?

* FatalAttractor: Towards the end of the seventh season, Martin hooks up with a woman who's a victim/witness in the case of the week. This is bad enough, but it gets worse when viewers learn—but he's still unaware—that she's actually one of the criminals in question, and still worse when he does learn but doesn't immediately turn her in. By the season's end, he's confessed all to his supervisor and is facing a severe reprimand ([[AbortedArc which we don't learn, as the show was cancelled after that]]).

* ForWantOfANail: In the episode "Maple Street", the first VictimOfTheWeek disappears after missing her school bus. Footage from a camera she always carried with her shows she was picked up and abducted by a BadSamaritan (presumably, she turned it on when she realized she was in trouble and threw it out the window in the hopes that it would help the police). The second victim is abducted in much the same way, heavily implying that the guy is someone both girls knew and that she was taken to [[HeKnowsTooMuch prevent her from telling the cops]].

* ImperiledInPregnancy: Several episodes have featured pregnant women disappearing, with an extra sense of urgency to find them because of additional medical conditions. Ironically, in no instance was the woman's husband/boyfriend responsible [[note]] in RealLife, DomesticAbuse is the number one reason a pregnant woman will end up in the hospital or the morgue [[/note]] even though in one instance, the man was indeed abusive (the woman had vanished in order to escape from him).

* ForWantOfANail: The first VictimOfTheWeek disappears after missing her school bus. Footage from a camera she always carried with her shows she was picked up and abducted by a BadSamaritan (presumably, she turned it on when she realized she was in trouble and threw it out the window in the hopes that it would help the police). The second victim is abducted in much the same way.

Another show (2002-2009) in the Series/CSIVerse from the ''Series/{{CSI}}-[[Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit SVU]]'' school of "let's focus on a lesser-known faction of the criminal investigation world"; this one takes a look at the FBI's missing persons unit. It's hip and gritty and hyper-edited like its contemporaries, with a similar focus on the cases rather than investigators; it sets itself apart, however, by having a more emotional interest in the cases than procedural, which is greatly helped by a top-drawer performance from Anthony [=LaPaglia=].

* ShipSinking: ''Both'' of Samantha's relationships get this--Martin because he gets fed up with her not wanting to tell anyone about them and her keeping him at arm's length [[note]]Quite bad considering that WordOfGod is that TPTB intended for a relationship between them from the get-go[[/note]], and Jack because she's decided to make things work with her son's father.

* BetaCouple: Danny and Elena. True to form, their relationship has much less drama than the other two (Sam/Martin, Sam/Jack) and actually lasts, when them getting married in the finale.

* RippedFromTheHeadlines: "Maple Street" is based on the 2002 disappearance and murder of [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ward_Weaver_III Ashley Pond and Miranda Gaddis]]. With a [[BittersweetEnding slightly happier ending]]--in RealLife, both girls were found dead months later, whereas on the show, one was found alive.

* PunnyName: Samantha "Sam" Spade, named for the hero of ''Film/TheMalteseFalcon''.