Missing Ending Explained: A Global Conspiracy Or A Family Affair?

In 2018, Aneesh Chaganty's "Searching" changed the mystery movie game by popularizing the "screen life" thriller, framing its action and ample surprises squarely within the confines of a computer screen. The film followed David (John Cho), a widower on the hunt for his missing teen daughter Margot (Michelle La), and it proved to be a surprise box office hit thanks to its novel concept and a great performance by Cho. With a $75 million box office haul against a shoestring budget, a follow-up film seemed like a no-brainer. That's where "Missing" comes in.

Released in spring 2023, "Missing" doesn't actually have much in common with "Searching" aside from an excellent lead actor, some producers and crew members, and a story about a missing family member. The movie is a standalone sequel, meaning it makes total sense even if you never saw "Searching." But "Missing" is anything but simple; with countless twists and turns and enough red herrings to make a shoal (that's what a group of herring is called), "Missing" walks a fine line between a classic mystery and a convoluted whodunnit — and finally resolves with a nerve-wracking climax.

Several of the most important clues about what's really going on in "Missing" come in the film's opening minutes. Viewers see footage of a young girl named June (Storm Reid) with her dad, James (Tim Griffin). After the video ends, it becomes clear that James died; we see a Google account being deleted, search results for brain tumor treatment, and a file of memories kept for June.

12 years later, June's mom Grace (Nia Long) goes missing while on a trip with a new boyfriend, Kevin (Ken Leung). It becomes clear that Kevin was a scammer, and initially seems like he kidnapped Grace, replacing her with an actor for the duration of the vacation. June, who has a fraught relationship with her mom, figures all of this out with some tech savvy and help from her mom's friend, a lawyer (Amy Landecker) who ends up getting killed. Grace eventually becomes a more suspicious figure though when it's revealed she had talked to Kevin about a secret from her past.

During her amateur investigation, June speaks with a man named Jimmy who says he helped rehabilitate Kevin. After Kevin is killed in a police standoff and all hope seems lost, June finds out that her mother had blocked a threatening user — and that user has June's family's old vacation home wired up with security cameras. What the heck is going on?! Just then, Jimmy shows up at June's door, and in the movie's biggest twist, reveals that he's actually her dad.

At this point in the movie, "Missing" has done a great job pulling viewers' emotional strings to make us think perhaps June's mom is a criminal mastermind after all, and James – who had been going by Jimmy on the phone – pretty convincingly makes this case at first. He says Grace had him arrested and pretended he was dead, but lays the blame squarely on her. Yet James is also suspiciously pushy, and June eventually realizes his incarceration timeline put him in prison at the same time as Kevin.

It turns out James was a volatile drug user who seemed to be verbally abusive at the very least. To get away from him, Grace told June he died and changed her own identity with the help of her lawyer, Heather. June grew up thinking her dad was a nice man who died too young, when he was actually a dangerous, unpredictable person. He set up the kidnapping scheme with Kevin, and soon takes June to the vacation home where her mom is also being held.

June and her mom reunite amidst dire circumstances as James holds them captive. After a harrowing attempted escape, Grace ends up shot while James is stabbed, and the latter succumbs to his injuries. June is finally able to get her mom to safety by using her home Siri device — which is being monitored via hidden camera through James' computer — to call for help. The film ends with June and her mom closer than ever, June in college, and the pair's story adapted into a true crime show called "Unfiction."

"Missing" does something truly clever with its ending, revealing that all of the film's more sensationalist aspects — including body doubles, con men, shady lawyers, and fake names — led to a devastatingly common situation. In the end, it wasn't some complex international conspiracy that led to Grace's disappearance, but an everyday case of domestic abuse. James was a dangerous person, and it turns out that all of Grace's secrets and overprotective tendencies came from her wish to protect her daughter both from her father and from his harmful legacy.

The movie's choice to end with a simple explanation where a fantastical one initially seemed likely feels timely. It speaks to the current conspiracy-minded nature of the U.S., in which TikTok true crime fans warn of human traffickers who will steal you away if your car has a bumper sticker, and QAnon followers are convinced that furniture companies are selling children. Realistically, these movements are plagued with misinformation, including a misunderstanding of basic statistics surrounding trafficking, kidnapping, and abuse. While it's compelling to believe that there are countless shadowy strangers out there with unlimited resources waiting to snatch our kids, the fact remains that, according to a 2017 study, 90% of kidnappings are actually done by a parent of the taken child.

"Missing" isn't explicitly about misinformation; June is a great researcher, and comes to conclusions that make sense within the limits of the information she has. But that's also true of people who fall into the web of conspiracy theories, and there's a reason for it. It's easier to think fantastically and imagine cinematic scenarios than it is to process pain that hits close to home. In the end, the culprit wasn't a crime syndicate or mastermind con artist, but June's own dad.

While "Missing" speaks to the dichotomy between absurd yet captivating narratives and heartbreaking, everyday ones, it's also about the relationship between June and her mom. When Grace is kidnapped, June is not on good terms with her. The teenager sees her mom as an overbearing stick in the mud, and has a lot of unresolved anger towards her for moving on from James with a new relationship. June doesn't tell Grace she loves her in her last exchange before their world comes apart at the seams, and spends much of the movie regretting it.

By the end of the movie, June has a newfound respect for her mom and the many sacrifices she made to keep the family safe. She's seen how hard life is without her, and the pair have bonded while fighting to save their own lives. "Missing" ends with the pair exchanging a simple "I love you" message, proof that June has come a long way from her eye-rolling, party-throwing days.

Mysteries and tech-savvy investigations aside, "Missing" is about the enduring strength of this one relationship, which survived thanks to both Grace's initial decision to go into hiding and June's life-saving investigation skills — which often outpace those of the investigators on the case. In a sweet parallel plot, the gig worker who helped June from Colombia, Javier (Joaquin de Almeida), also reunites with his own estranged son.

"Missing" co-director and co-writer Nick Johnson spoke to /Film about the ways in which the film intersected with real-life trends related to true crime and conspiratorial thinking, saying:

"I don't love how much amateur sleuthing — it's fun, but it makes me a little uncomfortable sometimes. On TikTok, especially, when theories go off the rails. So I think we're just having a little bit of fun with that, but also trying to point out that nobody knows what the hell they're talking about online. And it can be painful to the victims and victims' families."

In an interview with BET, star Long pointed out another interpretation of the film's ending: that June is a better investigator than the police. As she told the outlet, "Storm's character does a better job of identifying my whereabouts than the actual authorities, and there's something to be said about that." The Black women in the film ultimately save themselves when the forces meant to protect the vulnerable aren't able to do so. This goes back to the movie's theme of familial love and sacrifice, but also highlights forms of institutional racism that are insidious and rampant — just like the partner abuse at the film's core.

While another film within the "Searching" universe has yet to be announced, filmmaker Sev Ohanian (who co-wrote "Searching," co-wrote the story of "Missing," and produced both films) told /Film the team certainly could end up making another movie in the anthology franchise. "We have an idea for another movie because we have ideas for anything," Ohanian said, noting that the team likely needs more time before they decide on their next project. "I think the studio was smart to ask us six months after the first one had come out," he explained, "And just like giving birth, it feels like it's something you don't want to ask someone to do right away. We'll see."

"Missing" doesn't include Easter eggs hinting at a sequel, unless the team decides to take their found footage franchise in a totally different direction; throughout both films, headlines and comments viewers have caught out of the corner of their eyes have told a story about an alien invasion and a hero called The Green Angel. Alas, The Green Angel plot isn't a hint at a future movie, but rather an extended comedic bit designed to take place within the existing films. With characters including Margo, David, June, and Grace all still alive, it's possible that a future "Missing" sequel could bring back protagonists we know and love — or pick a whole new cast to put through the wringer.