Ep 12. The Runaway Bunny

In season 7, episode 12 of the hit TV show "Cold Case," titled "The Runaway Bunny," viewers are in for an emotionally charged episode that follows the investigation of a young woman's disappearance in the 1970s.

The episode begins with a group of hunters stumbling upon a human skeleton in the woods. The victim is identified as Sarah Courtney, a teenage girl who disappeared in 1978 when she ran away from home. The team is tasked to investigate Sarah's case to find out who killed her and why.

Lilly Rush, the lead detective on the team, starts by interviewing Sarah's parents, who confess that they did not get along with their daughter and that she was a rebellious teenager. They confirm that she ran away from home after a particularly bad argument with her mother and they did not hear from her again.

As the team delves deeper into the case, they uncover a troubled family history. Sarah's father, a Vietnam veteran, suffered from PTSD and was abusive towards Sarah and her mother. Sarah was once sent to live with her aunt in Michigan to escape the abuse, but she eventually returned home. Her aunt suggests that Sarah may have been trying to escape her troubled family life when she ran away.

The team's investigation leads them to a group home for troubled teenagers that Sarah had briefly stayed at before running away. Here, they discover that Sarah befriended a fellow runaway named Rachel, who also disappeared around the same time as Sarah. The team begins to suspect that the two cases may be connected.

As they dig deeper, the team uncovers a string of disturbing events that took place at the group home – including abuse, neglect, and sexual assault. And as the suspects are whittled down one by one, shocking secrets are revealed, and the team must work fast to bring the killer to justice before they can strike again.

With powerful performances from the cast, a gripping storyline, and a heart-wrenching conclusion, "The Runaway Bunny" is a standout episode that stays with viewers long after the credits roll.