Maggie finds herself becoming personally involved when a Polish woman, Ivona, arrives at the police station, escorted by a taxi driver demanding payment. Ivona's grasp of English only extends to "Daughter", and Maggie realises the daughter must be in Mt. Thomas. Ivona has an address for some people by the name of McPhee, so the logical place to start the investigation is there.
Maggie and PJ quickly discover the situation isn't as straight forward as it looks - Danusha, Ivona's daughter, is an exchange student, whose host family were the McPhees, but she's no longer staying there. The Heelers are directed to a new family the Barnses, who Danusha met through a school friend, Mandy. Their parents are both away, leaving Mandy's older brother, Jason in charge of the house. Both Mandy and Jason claim Danusha is staying back at the McPhee's.
Trying to trace Danusha, the Heelers investigate school records, both families, and the coordinator of the student exchange program. Unfortunately, no one seems to know where she is, or feel any duty of care for her.
Both the McPhee and the Barnes children seem evasive when questioned, and PJ and Maggie soon ascertain that Leo McPhee was friendlier towards Danusha than his host role should allow. Jason Barnes also found Danusha attractive, but is he telling the truth about the last time he saw her?
The discovery of Danusha's passport under Jason's bed leads him to confess he left Danusha near the National Park after he forced his attentions on her, and she demanded that he stop. He had felt that leaving her there would teach her a lesson, and Mandy tried to cover for him.
Will the Heelers find Danusha alive and be able to reunite mother and daughter? Or will they discover a shallow grave instead?
Back to the Episode Synopsis Page