Sumith Prasad
FOX’s police procedural series ‘Alert: Missing Persons Unit’ AKA ‘Alert’ revolves around the reappearance of Jason Grant and Nikki Batista’s son Keith after getting kidnapped six years ago. Although the former couple welcomes him into their lives without any suspicion, Keith’s sister Sidney gets convinced that the boy is not her brother since she has unintentionally killed him. As the series progresses, the boy manages to convince that he is Nikki and Jason’s son by giving an explanation for Sidney’s revelation. However, the ninth and tenth episodes of the show unravel the mystery behind him altogether. If you are looking for a detailed take on the same, let us help you! SPOILERS AHEAD.
The Boy is Lucas, Not Keith: A Case of Mistaken Identity
No, the boy really is not Keith. He is Lucas, an imposter who claims to be Keith. In the tenth episode of the series, Jason and Nikki arrest a kidnapper and serial killer named Beth Colt following the misunderstanding that one of her kidnapping victims is their son. While the family celebrates the arrest of the person who supposedly caused the biggest tragedy that befell them, a woman arrives at the place and abducts Keith. The two police officers rush to Beth to find any information regarding the kidnapper, only for her to reveal that she has never seen the boy.
Meanwhile, Sidney reads the boy’s diary to find any lead that can guide her parents to her missing brother, only to come across mentions of a woman referred to as “EH.” Nikki and Jason find out that EH is Evelyn Hadley, which leads them to the latter’s house, only to find the supposed Keith, who reveals that Evelyn is his mother. The boy then comes clean and tells the former couple that he is Lucas. Evelyn and Lucas came to know about Keith a considerable while ago and they noticed how the missing boy resembled Lucas.
Evelyn, who had been leading a life without any prospects, realized that she would be able to make Lucas pretend to be Keith so that she could contact Nikki and Jason as a kidnapper and ask for ransom. Lucas then started to research extensively about Keith and his family under the pressure of Evelyn. He cut out newspaper reports and made sure that he didn’t miss any of the family’s interviews so that he can learn even the insignificant details about the missing boy. That’s how he is able to answer Nikki and Jason’s questions concerning Keith’s likes and dislikes, his turbulent relationship with Sidney, etc.
Lucas was severely abused by Evelyn. He must have felt worthless when he realized that his mother was ready to trade him for money. That was when he also learned immensely about Keith’s family, which is the polar opposite of the family he formed with Evelyn. He saw two parents who care about their son severely and who would go to any extremes or lengths to get him back in Nikki and Jason. He started to yearn for the love and care Nikki and Jason could provide, which changed his mind about being Keith. He eventually surfaced in Nikki and Jason’s life not for money but for the love they shower on him.
Lucas might haven’t expected Sidney’s conviction that he is not her brother since Keith is dead. But he eventually anticipates her suspicion concerning his identity influencing Nikki and Jason, which leads him to replace a lock of Keith’s hair Nikki has with his hair. Even when the police officer moves forward with a DNA test, Lucas ends up protecting his cover story. Meantime, Evelyn starts to bother him for the money she planned to extort from Nikki and Jason. Lucas, however, makes it clear that he didn’t want his “new parents” to lose money to his mother.
Lucas then realizes that he cannot remain ambiguous anymore. He understands that he needs to find a way to incriminate someone as his kidnapper so that Nikki and Jason will close the investigation altogether. That’s when he comes to know that his best friend Oliver was a victim of Beth Colt. Oliver tells Lucas, thinking that he is Keith, about Beth and another victim named Max so that the supposed Keith can present the serial killer as his kidnapper, which would lead the authorities to Max. Oliver doesn’t know that his friend would use the same as a part of his cover story.
Lucas may have succeeded in remaining Keith for the rest of his life if his mother Evelyn hasn’t abducted him to confront him about the money. As far as he is concerned, he only did the right thing by pretending to be Keith since, in his view, Nikki and Jason live a few days with their son again due to his actions.
Read More: Who is Rachel in Alert Missing Persons Unit? Who Plays Her?
