Law & Order Special Victims Unit s25e01 Episode Script
Tunnel Blind
1
In the criminal justice system,
sexually based offenses
are considered
especially heinous.
In New York City, the
dedicated detectives
who investigate
these vicious felonies
are members of an elite squad
known as the
Special Victims Unit.
These are their stories.
[SOFT DRAMATIC MUSIC]
It's moments like these
that remind me
of the oath that I took,
to protect the innocent.
This is victim services.
Call them sometime.
You gotta give me the rape kit.
It's the only way
we're gonna ID this guy.
♪
This is not a solitary act
But more of a
lifelong commitment.
Is it your will
that Nicky be baptized
in the faith of this church?
- It is.
- Yes, Father.
May the Lord free you from sin
as you are given
new birth by this water.
[SOFTLY]
Hi. Yes.
Are you ready?
Are you ready?
Are you ready?
I baptize you
in the name of the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
[GENTLE MUSIC]
Hi.
- [WHISTLE BLOWS]
- The game's on.
- Come on, Eileen.
- Very funny.
You know I hate that song.
I'm gonna sing it
if we don't get out of here.
- Dad, please don't sing.
- Shelf paper, where's the shelf paper?
See, you're about to
embarrass your daughter now.
Hey, Maddie,
I'll make a deal with you.
I won't sing if you help me
drag your mother out of here.
- [LAUGHS]
- How about you just help me
find the acrylic paint instead?
Acrylic paint, for what?
For the vase I have to make
for art class.
I want to paint it.
- Divide and conquer?
- Mm-hmm.
Come on,
let's go get the paint.
- Four, three, two, one.
- Go, go, go!
- Go, go, go, go.
- Ready or not, here I come.
[UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING]
Carisi tells me you're single.
Oh, he just
offered that up, huh?
Well, I asked.
By the way, I'm divorced.
Well, don't look at me.
Might as well toss your heart
into a wood chipper.
All right.
Fair enough.
Hey, I see you
you met my cousin, Steve.
You had to offer that up,
Carisi,
- that I was single?
- What? You are single.
And he wouldn't
leave me alone about it.
- He's a nice guy.
- Want me to run interference?
No, Fin.
That's very sweet.
I can handle it, thank you.
But Carisi, I don't
You know,
Munch would have ran him off
just telling him his theory
about the Kennedy assassination.
- To Munch, the man.
- [SIGHS]
- The myth.
- Sergeant
To Detective Munch.
I see my wife's face.
I got to get back
on diaper duty.
Mm-mm. I can help her out.
Nuh-uh.
My turn to hold the baby.
- Oh, OK, Uncle Fin.
- By all means.
Can I hold the baby?
Can I talk to you
for a second?
Yeah.
The diaper bag is right there.
You've been warned.
What's up?
- [SIGHS]
- How you holding up?
Well, I don't get it.
I mean, the boy
keeps us up all night.
And then when
Father Ralph dunks him
like a donut, not a peep?
He's a Carisi man.
We're full of contradictions.
Is he gonna be a cop
or a prosecutor?
Why can't he be both?
What?
Just realizing
this is the most alone time
we've had in six months.
Mm.
What's with the compass?
Oh, it it was a gift.
Yeah, but the letters
are all wrong.
The J is for joy,
and the C is for compassion.
And the L?
The L is for love.
Been pointing you
in the right direction?
[GENTLE MUSIC]
Not yet.
- Did you find the paint?
- Huh?
You were supposed to find
the paint with Maddie.
Where is Maddie?
Thought she was
checking out with you.
[SCOFFS]
Where is
Maddie?
Little Nicky's really smart.
You can see it in his eyes.
You can?
Did you know he
can count already?
Really?
Because he is six months old.
He knew how many fingers
I was holding up.
I asked, is it six?
And he nodded.
- [LAUGHS]
- Some kind of genius.
And then he stuck
his tongue out.
Oh, a comic genius.
Even better.
[CHUCKLES] Amanda said
I could babysit sometime.
[DISTANT HORN BLARES]
But I was, like, thinking,
maybe we could, like,
adopt each other, you know?
Because Little Nicky
could use an older brother.
- Too many sisters.
- OK, OK, we'll talk about it.
We're talking now, aren't we?
[OMINOUS MUSIC]
♪
Mom!
Mom, the light. It's green.
- Yeah, I know.
- [HORN HONKS]
- Can we get pizza tonight?
- Yep.
- Hey, she's not outside?
- Maybe she took a Quik Ride.
Peter, what are you
talking about?
- Why would she do that?
- Did you try her phone yet?
I've been calling.
I'll try again.
Straight to voicemail.
Maddie? It's Mom.
Call me as soon
as you get this.
And her GPS location's
turned off.
- What?
- Ma'am.
- Police are on their way.
- OK. Thank you.
- Police?
- Yeah, I told them to call.
It's only been a couple minutes.
We're gonna find her.
- I
- Hey, hey, hey, hey,
we're gonna find her, OK?
[SIRENS WAILING]
When was the last time
you saw the girl?
I didn't. Just the father.
And what was he doing
at the time?
In the TV section,
watching a game.
What are we looking at?
Maddie Flynn, 15.
Parents lost sight of her
about an hour ago.
OK, who saw her last?
Mom swears
she was with her dad.
The way he tells it, she went
to check out with the mom.
All right, any witnesses?
It's like she vanished.
The store's pulling
security footage.
Captain, Sergeant,
something you should see.
I found it stashed
in the men's room.
You think that's connected?
Well, it couldn't hurt
to run it through NIBIN,
check its provenance.
Where are the parents?
They were arguing,
so we separated them.
Dad's right there.
Mom's over there.
OK, I'll talk to her.
- Mrs. Flynn.
- Hi.
Hi, I'm Captain Benson, SVU.
You have to find her.
You have to find her.
We're doing
everything that we can.
You got anything?
We called in a Level One,
all units, and an Amber Alert.
It's not like her
to wander off.
Is there anywhere in this
neighborhood she likes to go,
like maybe a friend's house?
We live up near
Riverside Drive.
We only come down here to shop.
Anything else
you can think of?
She has her own MetroCard.
She could be down in a tunnel.
Maybe that's why
she's not picking up her phone.
You gave the responding
officer Maddie's description?
Yeah, yeah, I have a photo.
And actually, I have
another one more close-up.
All right,
that would be very helpful.
- Here.
- OK.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
- This is your daughter?
- Yeah, yeah, that's Maddie.
♪
When was this photo taken?
This morning at breakfast.
OK.
♪
What?
What what is it?
We're gonna find
your daughter, Mrs. Flynn.
We're gonna find Maddie.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
♪
I told you, it was her.
I saw Maddie Flynn
sitting in that van.
Are you sure?
In a city of 8.5 million.
You know the odds of that?
It was her, Chief.
I saw her.
OK. OK, I believe you.
Do we have an alert out
on the vehicle?
Patrol pulled traffic cams
from every intersection
between here and Staten Island.
- I came out of the Battery Tunnel.
- Did you get a plate?
Look, she was fine.
She was normal.
There was no indication
that anything was
- It's not on you, Liv.
- It is on me, Fin.
Did you get a look
at the driver?
He was white.
He was 30s, maybe.
He was wearing a baseball cap.
Like half the guys
in this city?
[SIGHS]
I should have known better.
I should have turned around.
I was just
what is a young girl doing,
sitting in the front seat
of a delivery van?
I trust you didn't tell
the parents about this?
- No.
- Good. Don't.
Not a word to them or the press
until we know you actually saw
what you saw.
- [PHONE BUZZING]
- We hear you, Chief.
It's the mayor's office.
Teen girl goes missing
in broad daylight.
Look, we know the statistics.
We got 24 hours.
Find her.
McGrath.
Yeah.
I should have
pulled him over.
You had no way of knowing.
I should have
seen it in her eyes.
I should have known.
- Captain.
- What is it, Bruno?
Unis just found
Maddie's cell phone.
Yes, yes, that's
that's Maddie's.
We've been calling and calling.
Where'd you find it?
We found it on the Brooklyn
side of the Battery Tunnel.
So whoever took Maddie,
left Manhattan?
Mrs. Flynn,
we're doing all we can.
Mrs. Flynn, is your daughter
on social media?
Yes, but we have
parental controls.
We we sheltered our daughter.
- I'm sure that you did.
- She's young for her age.
Anyone you know personally,
someone she trusts
she might have gone with?
What are you saying?
We think
that we may have a witness
who saw Maddie
with her abductor.
What?
She said that Maddie
didn't appear scared.
She seemed calm.
So we're just wondering
if you have any family,
any friends,
anyone Maddie might have
ran into at the store?
No, no, we just moved
from San Francisco
to New York last year
because of the crime.
I thought I thought
New York was gonna be safer.
I can't imagine
what you're feeling.
No, no, you can't.
My daughter is missing!
There's no one to blame here.
Oh, no?
No?
Well, what about NYPD?
I mean, don't you guys
have cameras everywhere?
It has been two hours,
and all you've found
is her damn phone!
What are you doing
to help find my daughter
that I couldn't do myself?
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
What did you find
on the on the cell phone?
Was she talking to someone?
Was it a boy?
We're still investigating.
What can you tell us about
your daughter's friends?
They're all good kids,
like she is.
What about family friends,
somebody she might have
ran into?
We keep telling you people,
we barely know anyone here.
[SIGHS]
All I can think about
right now
my wife thinks
this is my fault.
Well, maybe it is.
I don't know.
Guys, it has been
over four hours.
Please tell me that
you have something.
She didn't use her MetroCard.
Quik Ride said
they didn't pick up
a young girl at that location.
Yeah, I went through all the
call history with the parents.
They recognized every number.
OK, what about store cams?
Just the family.
An angle of Maddie
alone in the paint aisle.
The guy was probably
casing the place
and knew all the blind spots.
Let me guess the blind spot
is near the men's room.
That would explain
why he stashed the gun there.
We're still checking
for prints.
Did NIBIN give us anything?
Ballistics put a couple
of shots through it.
They're checking
the rifling pattern.
Is there anything
on the parents?
Decent people, no red flags.
Financial problems?
No more than anyone else.
And they're telling
the truth about
their daughter's
presence online.
They have access
to all her socials.
OK, you searched her room?
Stuffed animals, books,
soccer trophies.
There's nothing to indicate
that she was being groomed
or that she had
an older boyfriend?
No.
As far as I can see,
she's an innocent
15-year-old girl.
Why don't you take a few
hours, Liv? We'll hold the fort.
Fin, if you say that again,
we're gonna have a problem.
♪
OK?
You had a long day.
I let him take her.
And you saw her face
for what, a few seconds?
Through a dirty windshield?
Not for nothing, Captain,
but a bright green
energy drink van?
It's pretty conspicuous.
Not what I would choose if
I was going to abduct a kid.
Are you guys saying that
I'm imagining all of this?
Because I'm not.
[PHONE BUZZES]
Wait, wait, wait, wait, Captain!
State troopers down in
Pennsylvania just got a hit,
on an abandoned
energy drink van.
♪
- Energy drink van.
- The same one?
- It's tough to say.
- It's a known brand.
There could be hundreds of them.
No, I was coming
out of the tunnel.
The light was in my eyes.
What do we have on this vehicle?
Reported stolen by the company
in Providence, Rhode
Island, yesterday.
OK, I want a full
workup of the interior
- prints, hairs, fiber, luminol.
- On it, Captain.
You know we're looking
for a missing teenage girl.
Yeah, I got the alert.
Is there any sign
that she was here?
Any sign at all?
How long has that
camera been broken?
Clerk says some
teens vandalized it
a few weeks back.
He must have switched vehicles.
It's a busy road.
Might be a long
shot, but can't hurt
to get a list of the drink
company's employees.
And the security
footage from the camera
wherever the van was stolen.
This could be the van.
She was looking right at me.
Well, if she was in this
van, we're gonna get a hit.
Prints, hair
♪
Fin!
Fin!
Smart girl.
You were right.
She was here.
Maddie was here.
The lab confirms that
the hairs in the van
and the DNA on the bracelet
are indeed a match for Maddie.
Evidence she was in the
vehicle. It's a good start.
Now, is there
anything on the driver?
It's a work truck, so multiple
prints on the steering wheel,
no matches in the system.
OK, the gun you recovered
from the men's room,
- anything more?
- ATF's still looking into it.
Still looking into it.
So, for now, we have
nothing on our perp.
Other than my useless visual ID?
There's no prints,
and there's no DNA.
Maybe the guy
was wearing gloves.
I didn't notice his hands.
OK, is there anything
on the traffic cams
besides the plates?
Got something.
We pulled ring cams from
the van's route out of the tunnel,
a few grainy shots of the driver.
Is that the guy you saw?
Yeah.
- How sure are you?
- I'm sure.
Are these clear enough to
run through facial recognition?
It's worth a shot.
Call in the parents. Show them.
See if we get lucky.
The energy drink company
reported the van stolen?
Yeah, but no video on the theft.
What about the other employees?
We ran everyone who had access?
A couple of mis-dee's.
No felony records.
No one on the registry.
We asked for voluntary
DNA. Two guys said no.
And what idiot doesn't
want to clear their name
on a child abduction case?
One that doesn't
trust the system.
Or, a guilty one.
I can ask for a court
order on the two holdouts
- if you can get me probable cause.
- I also need phone records,
emails, social media accounts.
Yeah, of course.
[SOFT DRAMATIC MUSIC]
♪
Now I'm gonna ask
something of you.
What?
Stop beating yourself
up over Maddie Flynn.
That's easier said than done.
Yeah, that's that's Maddie's.
[SNIFFLES]
Her best friend
gave her that bracelet
before we moved
from San Francisco.
She wore it every day.
I almost don't want to ask.
Where where did you find it?
We found it in an abandoned
van in Pennsylvania,
but, we are following some very
strong leads, Mrs. Flynn.
OK? We're tracking
the van's route.
We're tracking the driver.
Is she still alive?
We have no reason to
believe that she's not.
Your daughter is
very resourceful.
She left this
bracelet for us to find.
What's this?
Footage of the driver.
Do you have any idea,
who that could be?
Could be anybody.
Techs are working on the image.
Anyone you could
think of that was paying
particular attention to Maddie?
I already told you,
we just moved here.
We barely know anyone.
Neighbor, maybe
somebody doing work
on your house recently?
No and no.
Your daughter
plays soccer, right?
Yeah, why?
Maybe a coach or a pervy dad
that shows up to all the games?
You think this is sexual?
These guys are out there.
Mr. Flynn, how often
do you go to that store?
Once a week, maybe?
Whoever took
Maddie knew their way
around those cameras.
What are you saying?
She may have been targeted.
There was an older guy
watching the girls'
soccer practice last year.
Some of the moms complained.
Anyone call the cops?
Gordon Franks.
Local precinct spoke
to him three months ago
about hanging around
the girls' practice field.
What happened?
Guy claimed he
was just a soccer fan.
The precinct cop let him go?
They didn't even
check his phone.
[TENSE MUSIC]
NYPD. Open up.
Help you?
You Gordon Franks?
Yes. What's this about?
We're the ones
asking the questions.
♪
I'd offer you a seat, but
That's, OK.
So you like watching
young girls play soccer?
I enjoy sports.
Where were you yesterday,
Sunday, around 2:00 p.m.?
Here.
Was anybody with you?
My cat.
Fin!
Velasco!
♪
Where is she?
Where's Maddie?
I don't know who
you're talking about.
This girl.
Where's Maddie?
She's very good at soccer.
Get the dogs back here.
We'll never find
anything in this mess.
I've never done anything wrong.
Taking photos of strangers
makes me feel closer to people.
Where's Maddie?
Like I said, I don't
know who that is.
- The girl you're stalking.
- She has a name.
OK, and we searched
the rest of the house?
And the yard and the shed.
Dogs didn't pick up
any trace of Maddie.
This guy's a perv,
but it's a big leap
from taking pictures
to kidnapping.
For what it's worth, the
guy doesn't even have
a valid driver's license.
Did he post any
photos of her online?
Not that we can tell,
but TARU is still going
through his computer.
Well, if they don't
find anything else,
I gotta tell you, it's
gonna be a stretch
to bring charges
against this guy.
- The images I saw?
- Hey, hey!
They barely even qualify
as street photography,
let alone kiddie porn.
I want to just
Step back.
Put that down!
Hey, hold it right there.
Wait, wait, wait,
wait. No, wait
I'm Captain Benson.
- What's going on?
- I found her, the missing girl.
Put her on the floor.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
Step back.
Hey, step back.
♪
Where did you get this?
Cut. Going again.
- [BELL RINGS]
- Back to one.
See, I told you.
This is our psycho killer.
What is it, a crazy lunch lady?
It's called "Cafeteria Carnage."
She kills the kids and
feeds them to each other.
Let me guess, straight to video.
So why'd you need a latex
doll that looks like our vic?
This movie is super low budget.
I needed 50 kids for the
big finale shooting tomorrow.
So you got sex dolls?
Well, they're cheaper
than prop dummies.
And trust me, nobody
on the production
is using them like that.
Shooting's shut down. All
the dolls are now evidence.
Whoa, no, you you guys
can't just shut us down.
You guys are
treating me like a perp.
I'm a hero.
As soon as I saw
that girl on the news,
I brought the doll
straight down to you guys.
Wanna be a real hero?
Tell us where you
got these dolls.
I thought that I'd seen
everything on this job.
A first for me too.
Underage sex doll created
specifically for pedophiles?
I know. If we can
track down the seller,
what can we even
charge him with?
Sickening as this is,
it's not a crime
to sell a latex doll.
An anatomically-correct
teen girl,
who looks exactly
like our victim?
Whoever manufactured this thing,
they did it well before
she was kidnapped.
Either way, they're just
gonna claim coincidence.
- Blonde hair, blue eyes
- The bracelet
Is not a coincidence.
The manufacturer got her
likeness from somewhere.
Question is, where?
Maddie's parents are here.
It's gonna be a
tough conversation.
You want me to stick around?
It never hurts to have
an ADA in the room.
For them or for you?
How about both?
Oh, my God. How did this happen?
This is the exact same
outfit from her birthday.
Eileen, I thought we agreed
to keep her image
off social media.
We're not here to blame anyone.
We're here to find Maddie.
But this can't just
be a coincidence.
What do you mean?
There might be a connection
between these dolls
and whoever took your daughter.
Are you saying that the same man
who used this doll
kidnapped my daughter?
Well, let's not get
ahead of ourselves, OK?
But what we do need to
find out is who saw this photo.
OK, my account
is private, though.
Well, you may think that.
But when it comes
to the internet,
all bets are off.
You people seem to know
a lot more than
you're telling us!
- Peter, just
- Is our daughter alive or not?
Yes.
How do you know that?
What what I think Captain
Benson is trying to say
is there might be a
reason that your daughter
was targeted specifically.
And to whoever took her,
she's likely more
valuable to them alive.
Which is why we need access
to your Instagram, your password.
Our analysts can find
out who liked this photo,
who shared this photo
It's no one I I know.
At this point of the
investigation, Mrs. Flynn,
we cannot rule anyone out.
[KNOCK AT DOOR]
[WHISPERING]
We found the seller.
[CHAINS JANGLING]
[METAL DOOR CLANKING]
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
♪
Hey, you can't be in here.
Actually, we can.
Captain, there's
more boxes over here.
♪
Velasco.
Open this one.
It's Maddie.
There's more underage
dolls back here, Captain.
Where do these dolls come from?
Taiwan. Same as all the others.
I'm talking about this one.
Best-seller. The Birthday Girl.
Take everything, and arrest him.
Come on.
Turn around.
Anatomically modern human
beings have been around
for about 300,000 years.
And for most of that time,
criminal motivation was
to satisfy the most basic needs.
Food, water
- Shelter.
- That too.
- What else?
- Mating?
That's another basic need.
But somewhere along the line,
even that basic
need got corrupted,
probably around the
time of Jack the Ripper.
Now, that is the dawn of
sex crimes investigation.
Uh, so
How about for
our next assignment,
you guys figure out why
Jack the Ripper did what he did
- from a Jungian perspective.
- [BELL RINGS]
All right, see
you all next week.
I even want to come
back next week.
Well, you can guest
lecture any time you want to.
[LAUGHING] OK, thank you.
Once I find Maddie Flynn.
The missing girl.
Yeah, Carisi said
that you saw her
on the way home
from the baptism.
- Are you OK?
- Not really.
[SOMBER MUSIC]
She was wearing
one just like this.
And you're not taking that
off until she comes home.
Any leads?
Carisi told you
about the sex dolls?
Yeah.
Did you find out who had
access to Maddie's image?
TARU is hitting a dead end
on the mother's Instagram.
How many dolls were
in that warehouse?
A few dozen.
So there's no saying how
many others are out there.
Right, but one was used
on a movie set as a prop.
But nobody on that
movie set had a record.
Nobody had nobody
was on the sex registry.
And there was no DNA on it?
There's no indication
that that doll was used
as anything other than a prop.
And you're tracking the other
the other buyers on that list
who maybe weren't
using the doll as prop.
A case of criminal
sexual escalation?
Most porn works
that way, doesn't it?
Sometimes you smoke a cigarette,
and a year later, you're
smoking two packs a day.
Because you need
it to get that high.
Some Pedophiles, they can't
they can't always
control themselves.
Are you thinking
what I'm thinking?
Our perp is on that buyers list.
Our perp?
♪
Well, you're the one
who's gotta find him.
I'm glad if I could help.
Don't make me miss you
more than I already do.
[BELL RINGS]
I'll see you around, Professor.
How many of these
things do you have?
Only two. Ava was lonely.
OK, bag them both, please.
Wait, is this really necessary?
I guess you don't
watch the news.
No, it's all depressing.
There's a 15-year-old
girl missing.
Her name is Maddie
Flynn, and she looks
exactly like this
doll you have here.
I don't know anything
about a missing girl.
Well, then you won't
mind giving us prints
and a sample of your DNA.
[TENSE MUSIC]
In the closet in
Sharon's old room?
It's not what you think.
Sam, how long have you been
keeping this secret from me?
I just cuddled with her.
Ugh.
You're lying.
Well, if he is, ma'am,
we're gonna find that out.
I haven't done anything illegal.
You're right.
As of now, you're
not under arrest.
- As of now?
- Yeah.
But I need you to
come down to the station
and answer some
questions for us.
I've never seen that before.
We have your credit
card transaction history.
And a list of the buyers.
OK, so just tell us
where the doll is.
Or we can tear this house
down to the studs looking for it.
- He's getting away!
- It's OK.
Stop right there!
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
♪
- You gotta be kidding me.
- I got it.
[GRUNTING]
Hal. Hal, get down.
Get down, you're gonna
hurt yourself. It's over.
Just tell us where the doll is.
It's not what you think.
- Just show us!
- Hey, come on.
Careful. Be careful.
OK.
Let's go.
Let's go.
♪
Bag everything.
Hal, why would
you throw her out?
I I had to.
She's the reason
that all this happened.
Do you know where Maddie is?
No.
But I know who took her.
When I bought her, I didn't
know that she was a real girl.
So how'd you find out?
My friend Mark.
He saw the photo of
my doll that I posted.
- We're in the same chat room.
- OK.
So we're going
through your computer
and your phone right now.
How did Mark know the
doll was based on a real girl?
Mark's smart.
He put it together.
Was it his idea to take Maddie?
No. No, it was mine.
Just, knowing that she was real,
I couldn't stop
thinking about her.
The real version of
my doll. [CHUCKLES]
I wanted her.
And, who actually took Maddie?
- Was it your friend Mark?
- No.
Someone he knew, I
don't know the guy's name,
but I paid him $8,000.
[TENSE MUSIC]
Then I changed my mind.
I I called him. I
told him to cancel.
♪
But it was too late, right?
Yeah, it was.
I thought he would just
take her home to her parents.
I'm so sorry.
I didn't want to
hurt anyone real.
That's why I bought that doll.
Can I go home now?
No, Hal.
That's not how this works.
[KNOCK AT DOOR]
Captain, TARU got a
number off Hal's phone,
maybe the kidnapper.
We were able to track
it through the carrier.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
♪
I didn't know that was the
missing girl from the news.
Right, but you saw her, right?
She was OK?
Yeah, I I thought
the guy was her father.
♪
Hold up.
Go ahead.
♪
Maddie?
[WATER RUNNING]
Maddie?
He dumped the SIM card.
Clear!
Velasco, Bruno, help me.
Help me.
Pull her out.
Oh, my God.
It's not her.
Who's got Narcan?
You're OK.
You're safe now.
You're safe now.
[SIRENS WAILING]
All right, I'll see you
guys back at the station.
Captain Benson.
- Can I help you?
- I just wanna say thank you.
For what?
Finding my missing girl, Tanya.
SVU Detective Sloane Parrish,
Bergen County
Prosecutor's Office.
Nice to meet you.
[SIGHS] All the guys on my squad
thought she was
just another runaway.
Except you?
To be honest,
I'm getting really sick
of shouting into the wind.
Believe me, I understand.
You know what, why don't you
come back to the city with me,
and we can interview
Tanya together?
- Yeah?
- Yeah.
[THUNDER RUMBLING]
Hey, Tanya, how are you feeling?
Good.
So, this is Detective Parrish.
And she, has been looking
for you for quite some time.
Mm-hmm.
Now, the doctors told
us that the amount of fent
that you had in your
system was nearly deadly.
I'm glad Captain Benson
got there when she did.
Are you gonna arrest me?
No. No, no, no.
We want to help you.
And we think you can help us.
So the motel manager told
us that you were with a man.
Can you tell us his name?
George.
He's from Canada.
George from Canada.
Yeah, that's all I know.
Can you tell us how you
came in contact with him?
We met partying on the
train a few months back.
Like, the subway?
No, the one that goes
cross-country, Amtrak.
He he likes to ride
it for days sometimes.
I met him in Jacksonville.
I think he could tell
that I was an addict
from the burns on my fingers.
He told me that he
could get me high.
But I thought he meant rock.
He gave me fent instead.
So what else can
you tell us about him?
His hair color, his age, build?
- Late 30s.
- Mm-hmm.
Brown hair.
Are you asking all this
because you want to know
about that girl he took?
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
Yeah.
Her name is Maddie
Flynn. You saw her?
Yeah, a few days ago.
George went out and said
he was gonna make 8 grand.
Came back with
her and the money.
She was so out of it.
I asked him what he
was doing with her.
And what happened next?
We got into a fight when
he said he was splitting.
Yeah, why is that?
He said he couldn't
take both of us.
Did he threaten you or her?
Did he use a gun?
No, he wasn't violent like that,
and I never saw a gun.
After the fight,
he did get me high
to calm my nerves.
Next thing I know
[CRYING] I woke up in that bag.
♪
[SOBBING]
Hey, Tanya, you're safe now.
You're safe.
[SOBBING]
There you go.
There you go.
You're safe.
Well, now I know why
Maddie was so calm
in the energy drink van.
This guy likes to
drug his victims.
He groomed Tanya.
Got her hooked on fent.
Does Tanya know what
happened to Maddie?
No, only that she
was in the motel room
with George-from-Canada.
Apparently, he has a
history of being on the run.
Which means he knows
how to stay hidden.
And Tanya said that
he likes to ride Amtrak,
which is where he met her.
Well, I'll call and find out if a
girl matching Maddie's description
was on any route in the past two days.
You manage to reach
out to Tanya's mother?
NYPD tried, but they
couldn't get a hold of her.
I have a good
relationship with her.
Yeah, why don't
you try to call her?
Yeah.
Chief, what's going on?
We found a girl who'd been
missing for more than a year?
- Yeah.
- One-P-P wants a press conference now.
Maddie's still missing.
What is this, some
kind of victory?
Well, it is a victory.
Maybe not the one you want,
but it's the one
that's in front of us.
Tanya Garcia went missing
from Paramus, New Jersey,
over a year ago.
But now thanks to the
tireless work and dedication
of the NYPD and
Bergen County SVU,
she is home and
reunited with her mother.
[APPLAUSE]
I'm honored to wear the badge,
but my duty doesn't end
when a case is closed.
They all stay with you,
whether innocence
is saved or lost.
My goal is for the
world to be measured
by how safe it is
for the innocent.
And after all these years,
I've come to accept
that maybe it's not possible.
But I still have a duty to hope.
- There are other
- No! What about my daughter?
- What about my daughter?
- Eileen!
You promised me
you'd find my daughter!
And as I said to you
on the phone last night,
I am still working this case.
[SOBBING] No.
Honey, honey, please,
you're causing a scene.
Someone needs to!
Where is Maddie?
Come on.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
- Maddie!
- Come on.
[SOBBING]
Come on.
[SOBBING]
♪
In the criminal justice system,
sexually based offenses
are considered
especially heinous.
In New York City, the
dedicated detectives
who investigate
these vicious felonies
are members of an elite squad
known as the
Special Victims Unit.
These are their stories.
[SOFT DRAMATIC MUSIC]
It's moments like these
that remind me
of the oath that I took,
to protect the innocent.
This is victim services.
Call them sometime.
You gotta give me the rape kit.
It's the only way
we're gonna ID this guy.
♪
This is not a solitary act
But more of a
lifelong commitment.
Is it your will
that Nicky be baptized
in the faith of this church?
- It is.
- Yes, Father.
May the Lord free you from sin
as you are given
new birth by this water.
[SOFTLY]
Hi. Yes.
Are you ready?
Are you ready?
Are you ready?
I baptize you
in the name of the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
[GENTLE MUSIC]
Hi.
- [WHISTLE BLOWS]
- The game's on.
- Come on, Eileen.
- Very funny.
You know I hate that song.
I'm gonna sing it
if we don't get out of here.
- Dad, please don't sing.
- Shelf paper, where's the shelf paper?
See, you're about to
embarrass your daughter now.
Hey, Maddie,
I'll make a deal with you.
I won't sing if you help me
drag your mother out of here.
- [LAUGHS]
- How about you just help me
find the acrylic paint instead?
Acrylic paint, for what?
For the vase I have to make
for art class.
I want to paint it.
- Divide and conquer?
- Mm-hmm.
Come on,
let's go get the paint.
- Four, three, two, one.
- Go, go, go!
- Go, go, go, go.
- Ready or not, here I come.
[UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING]
Carisi tells me you're single.
Oh, he just
offered that up, huh?
Well, I asked.
By the way, I'm divorced.
Well, don't look at me.
Might as well toss your heart
into a wood chipper.
All right.
Fair enough.
Hey, I see you
you met my cousin, Steve.
You had to offer that up,
Carisi,
- that I was single?
- What? You are single.
And he wouldn't
leave me alone about it.
- He's a nice guy.
- Want me to run interference?
No, Fin.
That's very sweet.
I can handle it, thank you.
But Carisi, I don't
You know,
Munch would have ran him off
just telling him his theory
about the Kennedy assassination.
- To Munch, the man.
- [SIGHS]
- The myth.
- Sergeant
To Detective Munch.
I see my wife's face.
I got to get back
on diaper duty.
Mm-mm. I can help her out.
Nuh-uh.
My turn to hold the baby.
- Oh, OK, Uncle Fin.
- By all means.
Can I hold the baby?
Can I talk to you
for a second?
Yeah.
The diaper bag is right there.
You've been warned.
What's up?
- [SIGHS]
- How you holding up?
Well, I don't get it.
I mean, the boy
keeps us up all night.
And then when
Father Ralph dunks him
like a donut, not a peep?
He's a Carisi man.
We're full of contradictions.
Is he gonna be a cop
or a prosecutor?
Why can't he be both?
What?
Just realizing
this is the most alone time
we've had in six months.
Mm.
What's with the compass?
Oh, it it was a gift.
Yeah, but the letters
are all wrong.
The J is for joy,
and the C is for compassion.
And the L?
The L is for love.
Been pointing you
in the right direction?
[GENTLE MUSIC]
Not yet.
- Did you find the paint?
- Huh?
You were supposed to find
the paint with Maddie.
Where is Maddie?
Thought she was
checking out with you.
[SCOFFS]
Where is
Maddie?
Little Nicky's really smart.
You can see it in his eyes.
You can?
Did you know he
can count already?
Really?
Because he is six months old.
He knew how many fingers
I was holding up.
I asked, is it six?
And he nodded.
- [LAUGHS]
- Some kind of genius.
And then he stuck
his tongue out.
Oh, a comic genius.
Even better.
[CHUCKLES] Amanda said
I could babysit sometime.
[DISTANT HORN BLARES]
But I was, like, thinking,
maybe we could, like,
adopt each other, you know?
Because Little Nicky
could use an older brother.
- Too many sisters.
- OK, OK, we'll talk about it.
We're talking now, aren't we?
[OMINOUS MUSIC]
♪
Mom!
Mom, the light. It's green.
- Yeah, I know.
- [HORN HONKS]
- Can we get pizza tonight?
- Yep.
- Hey, she's not outside?
- Maybe she took a Quik Ride.
Peter, what are you
talking about?
- Why would she do that?
- Did you try her phone yet?
I've been calling.
I'll try again.
Straight to voicemail.
Maddie? It's Mom.
Call me as soon
as you get this.
And her GPS location's
turned off.
- What?
- Ma'am.
- Police are on their way.
- OK. Thank you.
- Police?
- Yeah, I told them to call.
It's only been a couple minutes.
We're gonna find her.
- I
- Hey, hey, hey, hey,
we're gonna find her, OK?
[SIRENS WAILING]
When was the last time
you saw the girl?
I didn't. Just the father.
And what was he doing
at the time?
In the TV section,
watching a game.
What are we looking at?
Maddie Flynn, 15.
Parents lost sight of her
about an hour ago.
OK, who saw her last?
Mom swears
she was with her dad.
The way he tells it, she went
to check out with the mom.
All right, any witnesses?
It's like she vanished.
The store's pulling
security footage.
Captain, Sergeant,
something you should see.
I found it stashed
in the men's room.
You think that's connected?
Well, it couldn't hurt
to run it through NIBIN,
check its provenance.
Where are the parents?
They were arguing,
so we separated them.
Dad's right there.
Mom's over there.
OK, I'll talk to her.
- Mrs. Flynn.
- Hi.
Hi, I'm Captain Benson, SVU.
You have to find her.
You have to find her.
We're doing
everything that we can.
You got anything?
We called in a Level One,
all units, and an Amber Alert.
It's not like her
to wander off.
Is there anywhere in this
neighborhood she likes to go,
like maybe a friend's house?
We live up near
Riverside Drive.
We only come down here to shop.
Anything else
you can think of?
She has her own MetroCard.
She could be down in a tunnel.
Maybe that's why
she's not picking up her phone.
You gave the responding
officer Maddie's description?
Yeah, yeah, I have a photo.
And actually, I have
another one more close-up.
All right,
that would be very helpful.
- Here.
- OK.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
- This is your daughter?
- Yeah, yeah, that's Maddie.
♪
When was this photo taken?
This morning at breakfast.
OK.
♪
What?
What what is it?
We're gonna find
your daughter, Mrs. Flynn.
We're gonna find Maddie.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
♪
I told you, it was her.
I saw Maddie Flynn
sitting in that van.
Are you sure?
In a city of 8.5 million.
You know the odds of that?
It was her, Chief.
I saw her.
OK. OK, I believe you.
Do we have an alert out
on the vehicle?
Patrol pulled traffic cams
from every intersection
between here and Staten Island.
- I came out of the Battery Tunnel.
- Did you get a plate?
Look, she was fine.
She was normal.
There was no indication
that anything was
- It's not on you, Liv.
- It is on me, Fin.
Did you get a look
at the driver?
He was white.
He was 30s, maybe.
He was wearing a baseball cap.
Like half the guys
in this city?
[SIGHS]
I should have known better.
I should have turned around.
I was just
what is a young girl doing,
sitting in the front seat
of a delivery van?
I trust you didn't tell
the parents about this?
- No.
- Good. Don't.
Not a word to them or the press
until we know you actually saw
what you saw.
- [PHONE BUZZING]
- We hear you, Chief.
It's the mayor's office.
Teen girl goes missing
in broad daylight.
Look, we know the statistics.
We got 24 hours.
Find her.
McGrath.
Yeah.
I should have
pulled him over.
You had no way of knowing.
I should have
seen it in her eyes.
I should have known.
- Captain.
- What is it, Bruno?
Unis just found
Maddie's cell phone.
Yes, yes, that's
that's Maddie's.
We've been calling and calling.
Where'd you find it?
We found it on the Brooklyn
side of the Battery Tunnel.
So whoever took Maddie,
left Manhattan?
Mrs. Flynn,
we're doing all we can.
Mrs. Flynn, is your daughter
on social media?
Yes, but we have
parental controls.
We we sheltered our daughter.
- I'm sure that you did.
- She's young for her age.
Anyone you know personally,
someone she trusts
she might have gone with?
What are you saying?
We think
that we may have a witness
who saw Maddie
with her abductor.
What?
She said that Maddie
didn't appear scared.
She seemed calm.
So we're just wondering
if you have any family,
any friends,
anyone Maddie might have
ran into at the store?
No, no, we just moved
from San Francisco
to New York last year
because of the crime.
I thought I thought
New York was gonna be safer.
I can't imagine
what you're feeling.
No, no, you can't.
My daughter is missing!
There's no one to blame here.
Oh, no?
No?
Well, what about NYPD?
I mean, don't you guys
have cameras everywhere?
It has been two hours,
and all you've found
is her damn phone!
What are you doing
to help find my daughter
that I couldn't do myself?
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
What did you find
on the on the cell phone?
Was she talking to someone?
Was it a boy?
We're still investigating.
What can you tell us about
your daughter's friends?
They're all good kids,
like she is.
What about family friends,
somebody she might have
ran into?
We keep telling you people,
we barely know anyone here.
[SIGHS]
All I can think about
right now
my wife thinks
this is my fault.
Well, maybe it is.
I don't know.
Guys, it has been
over four hours.
Please tell me that
you have something.
She didn't use her MetroCard.
Quik Ride said
they didn't pick up
a young girl at that location.
Yeah, I went through all the
call history with the parents.
They recognized every number.
OK, what about store cams?
Just the family.
An angle of Maddie
alone in the paint aisle.
The guy was probably
casing the place
and knew all the blind spots.
Let me guess the blind spot
is near the men's room.
That would explain
why he stashed the gun there.
We're still checking
for prints.
Did NIBIN give us anything?
Ballistics put a couple
of shots through it.
They're checking
the rifling pattern.
Is there anything
on the parents?
Decent people, no red flags.
Financial problems?
No more than anyone else.
And they're telling
the truth about
their daughter's
presence online.
They have access
to all her socials.
OK, you searched her room?
Stuffed animals, books,
soccer trophies.
There's nothing to indicate
that she was being groomed
or that she had
an older boyfriend?
No.
As far as I can see,
she's an innocent
15-year-old girl.
Why don't you take a few
hours, Liv? We'll hold the fort.
Fin, if you say that again,
we're gonna have a problem.
♪
OK?
You had a long day.
I let him take her.
And you saw her face
for what, a few seconds?
Through a dirty windshield?
Not for nothing, Captain,
but a bright green
energy drink van?
It's pretty conspicuous.
Not what I would choose if
I was going to abduct a kid.
Are you guys saying that
I'm imagining all of this?
Because I'm not.
[PHONE BUZZES]
Wait, wait, wait, wait, Captain!
State troopers down in
Pennsylvania just got a hit,
on an abandoned
energy drink van.
♪
- Energy drink van.
- The same one?
- It's tough to say.
- It's a known brand.
There could be hundreds of them.
No, I was coming
out of the tunnel.
The light was in my eyes.
What do we have on this vehicle?
Reported stolen by the company
in Providence, Rhode
Island, yesterday.
OK, I want a full
workup of the interior
- prints, hairs, fiber, luminol.
- On it, Captain.
You know we're looking
for a missing teenage girl.
Yeah, I got the alert.
Is there any sign
that she was here?
Any sign at all?
How long has that
camera been broken?
Clerk says some
teens vandalized it
a few weeks back.
He must have switched vehicles.
It's a busy road.
Might be a long
shot, but can't hurt
to get a list of the drink
company's employees.
And the security
footage from the camera
wherever the van was stolen.
This could be the van.
She was looking right at me.
Well, if she was in this
van, we're gonna get a hit.
Prints, hair
♪
Fin!
Fin!
Smart girl.
You were right.
She was here.
Maddie was here.
The lab confirms that
the hairs in the van
and the DNA on the bracelet
are indeed a match for Maddie.
Evidence she was in the
vehicle. It's a good start.
Now, is there
anything on the driver?
It's a work truck, so multiple
prints on the steering wheel,
no matches in the system.
OK, the gun you recovered
from the men's room,
- anything more?
- ATF's still looking into it.
Still looking into it.
So, for now, we have
nothing on our perp.
Other than my useless visual ID?
There's no prints,
and there's no DNA.
Maybe the guy
was wearing gloves.
I didn't notice his hands.
OK, is there anything
on the traffic cams
besides the plates?
Got something.
We pulled ring cams from
the van's route out of the tunnel,
a few grainy shots of the driver.
Is that the guy you saw?
Yeah.
- How sure are you?
- I'm sure.
Are these clear enough to
run through facial recognition?
It's worth a shot.
Call in the parents. Show them.
See if we get lucky.
The energy drink company
reported the van stolen?
Yeah, but no video on the theft.
What about the other employees?
We ran everyone who had access?
A couple of mis-dee's.
No felony records.
No one on the registry.
We asked for voluntary
DNA. Two guys said no.
And what idiot doesn't
want to clear their name
on a child abduction case?
One that doesn't
trust the system.
Or, a guilty one.
I can ask for a court
order on the two holdouts
- if you can get me probable cause.
- I also need phone records,
emails, social media accounts.
Yeah, of course.
[SOFT DRAMATIC MUSIC]
♪
Now I'm gonna ask
something of you.
What?
Stop beating yourself
up over Maddie Flynn.
That's easier said than done.
Yeah, that's that's Maddie's.
[SNIFFLES]
Her best friend
gave her that bracelet
before we moved
from San Francisco.
She wore it every day.
I almost don't want to ask.
Where where did you find it?
We found it in an abandoned
van in Pennsylvania,
but, we are following some very
strong leads, Mrs. Flynn.
OK? We're tracking
the van's route.
We're tracking the driver.
Is she still alive?
We have no reason to
believe that she's not.
Your daughter is
very resourceful.
She left this
bracelet for us to find.
What's this?
Footage of the driver.
Do you have any idea,
who that could be?
Could be anybody.
Techs are working on the image.
Anyone you could
think of that was paying
particular attention to Maddie?
I already told you,
we just moved here.
We barely know anyone.
Neighbor, maybe
somebody doing work
on your house recently?
No and no.
Your daughter
plays soccer, right?
Yeah, why?
Maybe a coach or a pervy dad
that shows up to all the games?
You think this is sexual?
These guys are out there.
Mr. Flynn, how often
do you go to that store?
Once a week, maybe?
Whoever took
Maddie knew their way
around those cameras.
What are you saying?
She may have been targeted.
There was an older guy
watching the girls'
soccer practice last year.
Some of the moms complained.
Anyone call the cops?
Gordon Franks.
Local precinct spoke
to him three months ago
about hanging around
the girls' practice field.
What happened?
Guy claimed he
was just a soccer fan.
The precinct cop let him go?
They didn't even
check his phone.
[TENSE MUSIC]
NYPD. Open up.
Help you?
You Gordon Franks?
Yes. What's this about?
We're the ones
asking the questions.
♪
I'd offer you a seat, but
That's, OK.
So you like watching
young girls play soccer?
I enjoy sports.
Where were you yesterday,
Sunday, around 2:00 p.m.?
Here.
Was anybody with you?
My cat.
Fin!
Velasco!
♪
Where is she?
Where's Maddie?
I don't know who
you're talking about.
This girl.
Where's Maddie?
She's very good at soccer.
Get the dogs back here.
We'll never find
anything in this mess.
I've never done anything wrong.
Taking photos of strangers
makes me feel closer to people.
Where's Maddie?
Like I said, I don't
know who that is.
- The girl you're stalking.
- She has a name.
OK, and we searched
the rest of the house?
And the yard and the shed.
Dogs didn't pick up
any trace of Maddie.
This guy's a perv,
but it's a big leap
from taking pictures
to kidnapping.
For what it's worth, the
guy doesn't even have
a valid driver's license.
Did he post any
photos of her online?
Not that we can tell,
but TARU is still going
through his computer.
Well, if they don't
find anything else,
I gotta tell you, it's
gonna be a stretch
to bring charges
against this guy.
- The images I saw?
- Hey, hey!
They barely even qualify
as street photography,
let alone kiddie porn.
I want to just
Step back.
Put that down!
Hey, hold it right there.
Wait, wait, wait,
wait. No, wait
I'm Captain Benson.
- What's going on?
- I found her, the missing girl.
Put her on the floor.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
Step back.
Hey, step back.
♪
Where did you get this?
Cut. Going again.
- [BELL RINGS]
- Back to one.
See, I told you.
This is our psycho killer.
What is it, a crazy lunch lady?
It's called "Cafeteria Carnage."
She kills the kids and
feeds them to each other.
Let me guess, straight to video.
So why'd you need a latex
doll that looks like our vic?
This movie is super low budget.
I needed 50 kids for the
big finale shooting tomorrow.
So you got sex dolls?
Well, they're cheaper
than prop dummies.
And trust me, nobody
on the production
is using them like that.
Shooting's shut down. All
the dolls are now evidence.
Whoa, no, you you guys
can't just shut us down.
You guys are
treating me like a perp.
I'm a hero.
As soon as I saw
that girl on the news,
I brought the doll
straight down to you guys.
Wanna be a real hero?
Tell us where you
got these dolls.
I thought that I'd seen
everything on this job.
A first for me too.
Underage sex doll created
specifically for pedophiles?
I know. If we can
track down the seller,
what can we even
charge him with?
Sickening as this is,
it's not a crime
to sell a latex doll.
An anatomically-correct
teen girl,
who looks exactly
like our victim?
Whoever manufactured this thing,
they did it well before
she was kidnapped.
Either way, they're just
gonna claim coincidence.
- Blonde hair, blue eyes
- The bracelet
Is not a coincidence.
The manufacturer got her
likeness from somewhere.
Question is, where?
Maddie's parents are here.
It's gonna be a
tough conversation.
You want me to stick around?
It never hurts to have
an ADA in the room.
For them or for you?
How about both?
Oh, my God. How did this happen?
This is the exact same
outfit from her birthday.
Eileen, I thought we agreed
to keep her image
off social media.
We're not here to blame anyone.
We're here to find Maddie.
But this can't just
be a coincidence.
What do you mean?
There might be a connection
between these dolls
and whoever took your daughter.
Are you saying that the same man
who used this doll
kidnapped my daughter?
Well, let's not get
ahead of ourselves, OK?
But what we do need to
find out is who saw this photo.
OK, my account
is private, though.
Well, you may think that.
But when it comes
to the internet,
all bets are off.
You people seem to know
a lot more than
you're telling us!
- Peter, just
- Is our daughter alive or not?
Yes.
How do you know that?
What what I think Captain
Benson is trying to say
is there might be a
reason that your daughter
was targeted specifically.
And to whoever took her,
she's likely more
valuable to them alive.
Which is why we need access
to your Instagram, your password.
Our analysts can find
out who liked this photo,
who shared this photo
It's no one I I know.
At this point of the
investigation, Mrs. Flynn,
we cannot rule anyone out.
[KNOCK AT DOOR]
[WHISPERING]
We found the seller.
[CHAINS JANGLING]
[METAL DOOR CLANKING]
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
♪
Hey, you can't be in here.
Actually, we can.
Captain, there's
more boxes over here.
♪
Velasco.
Open this one.
It's Maddie.
There's more underage
dolls back here, Captain.
Where do these dolls come from?
Taiwan. Same as all the others.
I'm talking about this one.
Best-seller. The Birthday Girl.
Take everything, and arrest him.
Come on.
Turn around.
Anatomically modern human
beings have been around
for about 300,000 years.
And for most of that time,
criminal motivation was
to satisfy the most basic needs.
Food, water
- Shelter.
- That too.
- What else?
- Mating?
That's another basic need.
But somewhere along the line,
even that basic
need got corrupted,
probably around the
time of Jack the Ripper.
Now, that is the dawn of
sex crimes investigation.
Uh, so
How about for
our next assignment,
you guys figure out why
Jack the Ripper did what he did
- from a Jungian perspective.
- [BELL RINGS]
All right, see
you all next week.
I even want to come
back next week.
Well, you can guest
lecture any time you want to.
[LAUGHING] OK, thank you.
Once I find Maddie Flynn.
The missing girl.
Yeah, Carisi said
that you saw her
on the way home
from the baptism.
- Are you OK?
- Not really.
[SOMBER MUSIC]
She was wearing
one just like this.
And you're not taking that
off until she comes home.
Any leads?
Carisi told you
about the sex dolls?
Yeah.
Did you find out who had
access to Maddie's image?
TARU is hitting a dead end
on the mother's Instagram.
How many dolls were
in that warehouse?
A few dozen.
So there's no saying how
many others are out there.
Right, but one was used
on a movie set as a prop.
But nobody on that
movie set had a record.
Nobody had nobody
was on the sex registry.
And there was no DNA on it?
There's no indication
that that doll was used
as anything other than a prop.
And you're tracking the other
the other buyers on that list
who maybe weren't
using the doll as prop.
A case of criminal
sexual escalation?
Most porn works
that way, doesn't it?
Sometimes you smoke a cigarette,
and a year later, you're
smoking two packs a day.
Because you need
it to get that high.
Some Pedophiles, they can't
they can't always
control themselves.
Are you thinking
what I'm thinking?
Our perp is on that buyers list.
Our perp?
♪
Well, you're the one
who's gotta find him.
I'm glad if I could help.
Don't make me miss you
more than I already do.
[BELL RINGS]
I'll see you around, Professor.
How many of these
things do you have?
Only two. Ava was lonely.
OK, bag them both, please.
Wait, is this really necessary?
I guess you don't
watch the news.
No, it's all depressing.
There's a 15-year-old
girl missing.
Her name is Maddie
Flynn, and she looks
exactly like this
doll you have here.
I don't know anything
about a missing girl.
Well, then you won't
mind giving us prints
and a sample of your DNA.
[TENSE MUSIC]
In the closet in
Sharon's old room?
It's not what you think.
Sam, how long have you been
keeping this secret from me?
I just cuddled with her.
Ugh.
You're lying.
Well, if he is, ma'am,
we're gonna find that out.
I haven't done anything illegal.
You're right.
As of now, you're
not under arrest.
- As of now?
- Yeah.
But I need you to
come down to the station
and answer some
questions for us.
I've never seen that before.
We have your credit
card transaction history.
And a list of the buyers.
OK, so just tell us
where the doll is.
Or we can tear this house
down to the studs looking for it.
- He's getting away!
- It's OK.
Stop right there!
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
♪
- You gotta be kidding me.
- I got it.
[GRUNTING]
Hal. Hal, get down.
Get down, you're gonna
hurt yourself. It's over.
Just tell us where the doll is.
It's not what you think.
- Just show us!
- Hey, come on.
Careful. Be careful.
OK.
Let's go.
Let's go.
♪
Bag everything.
Hal, why would
you throw her out?
I I had to.
She's the reason
that all this happened.
Do you know where Maddie is?
No.
But I know who took her.
When I bought her, I didn't
know that she was a real girl.
So how'd you find out?
My friend Mark.
He saw the photo of
my doll that I posted.
- We're in the same chat room.
- OK.
So we're going
through your computer
and your phone right now.
How did Mark know the
doll was based on a real girl?
Mark's smart.
He put it together.
Was it his idea to take Maddie?
No. No, it was mine.
Just, knowing that she was real,
I couldn't stop
thinking about her.
The real version of
my doll. [CHUCKLES]
I wanted her.
And, who actually took Maddie?
- Was it your friend Mark?
- No.
Someone he knew, I
don't know the guy's name,
but I paid him $8,000.
[TENSE MUSIC]
Then I changed my mind.
I I called him. I
told him to cancel.
♪
But it was too late, right?
Yeah, it was.
I thought he would just
take her home to her parents.
I'm so sorry.
I didn't want to
hurt anyone real.
That's why I bought that doll.
Can I go home now?
No, Hal.
That's not how this works.
[KNOCK AT DOOR]
Captain, TARU got a
number off Hal's phone,
maybe the kidnapper.
We were able to track
it through the carrier.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
♪
I didn't know that was the
missing girl from the news.
Right, but you saw her, right?
She was OK?
Yeah, I I thought
the guy was her father.
♪
Hold up.
Go ahead.
♪
Maddie?
[WATER RUNNING]
Maddie?
He dumped the SIM card.
Clear!
Velasco, Bruno, help me.
Help me.
Pull her out.
Oh, my God.
It's not her.
Who's got Narcan?
You're OK.
You're safe now.
You're safe now.
[SIRENS WAILING]
All right, I'll see you
guys back at the station.
Captain Benson.
- Can I help you?
- I just wanna say thank you.
For what?
Finding my missing girl, Tanya.
SVU Detective Sloane Parrish,
Bergen County
Prosecutor's Office.
Nice to meet you.
[SIGHS] All the guys on my squad
thought she was
just another runaway.
Except you?
To be honest,
I'm getting really sick
of shouting into the wind.
Believe me, I understand.
You know what, why don't you
come back to the city with me,
and we can interview
Tanya together?
- Yeah?
- Yeah.
[THUNDER RUMBLING]
Hey, Tanya, how are you feeling?
Good.
So, this is Detective Parrish.
And she, has been looking
for you for quite some time.
Mm-hmm.
Now, the doctors told
us that the amount of fent
that you had in your
system was nearly deadly.
I'm glad Captain Benson
got there when she did.
Are you gonna arrest me?
No. No, no, no.
We want to help you.
And we think you can help us.
So the motel manager told
us that you were with a man.
Can you tell us his name?
George.
He's from Canada.
George from Canada.
Yeah, that's all I know.
Can you tell us how you
came in contact with him?
We met partying on the
train a few months back.
Like, the subway?
No, the one that goes
cross-country, Amtrak.
He he likes to ride
it for days sometimes.
I met him in Jacksonville.
I think he could tell
that I was an addict
from the burns on my fingers.
He told me that he
could get me high.
But I thought he meant rock.
He gave me fent instead.
So what else can
you tell us about him?
His hair color, his age, build?
- Late 30s.
- Mm-hmm.
Brown hair.
Are you asking all this
because you want to know
about that girl he took?
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
Yeah.
Her name is Maddie
Flynn. You saw her?
Yeah, a few days ago.
George went out and said
he was gonna make 8 grand.
Came back with
her and the money.
She was so out of it.
I asked him what he
was doing with her.
And what happened next?
We got into a fight when
he said he was splitting.
Yeah, why is that?
He said he couldn't
take both of us.
Did he threaten you or her?
Did he use a gun?
No, he wasn't violent like that,
and I never saw a gun.
After the fight,
he did get me high
to calm my nerves.
Next thing I know
[CRYING] I woke up in that bag.
♪
[SOBBING]
Hey, Tanya, you're safe now.
You're safe.
[SOBBING]
There you go.
There you go.
You're safe.
Well, now I know why
Maddie was so calm
in the energy drink van.
This guy likes to
drug his victims.
He groomed Tanya.
Got her hooked on fent.
Does Tanya know what
happened to Maddie?
No, only that she
was in the motel room
with George-from-Canada.
Apparently, he has a
history of being on the run.
Which means he knows
how to stay hidden.
And Tanya said that
he likes to ride Amtrak,
which is where he met her.
Well, I'll call and find out if a
girl matching Maddie's description
was on any route in the past two days.
You manage to reach
out to Tanya's mother?
NYPD tried, but they
couldn't get a hold of her.
I have a good
relationship with her.
Yeah, why don't
you try to call her?
Yeah.
Chief, what's going on?
We found a girl who'd been
missing for more than a year?
- Yeah.
- One-P-P wants a press conference now.
Maddie's still missing.
What is this, some
kind of victory?
Well, it is a victory.
Maybe not the one you want,
but it's the one
that's in front of us.
Tanya Garcia went missing
from Paramus, New Jersey,
over a year ago.
But now thanks to the
tireless work and dedication
of the NYPD and
Bergen County SVU,
she is home and
reunited with her mother.
[APPLAUSE]
I'm honored to wear the badge,
but my duty doesn't end
when a case is closed.
They all stay with you,
whether innocence
is saved or lost.
My goal is for the
world to be measured
by how safe it is
for the innocent.
And after all these years,
I've come to accept
that maybe it's not possible.
But I still have a duty to hope.
- There are other
- No! What about my daughter?
- What about my daughter?
- Eileen!
You promised me
you'd find my daughter!
And as I said to you
on the phone last night,
I am still working this case.
[SOBBING] No.
Honey, honey, please,
you're causing a scene.
Someone needs to!
Where is Maddie?
Come on.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
- Maddie!
- Come on.
[SOBBING]
Come on.
[SOBBING]
♪