In the heart of San Jose, California, David Kim navigates the challenges of single parenthood after the tragic loss of his wife, Pamela, to lymphoma. Their daughter, Margot, is left to cope with her mother’s death as she enters high school. This emotional backdrop sets the stage for a harrowing story of love, loss, and the desperate search for a missing child.
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One fateful night, Margot attempts to reach out to her father, David, but he is fast asleep. The next day, when David tries to contact her, he is met with silence. Initially believing Margot is at her piano lesson, he soon discovers that she canceled her lessons six months prior. A shocking revelation comes when David finds out that Margot transferred $2,500 to a now-deleted Venmo account. This prompts him to call the police, leading to the involvement of Detective Rosemary Vick.
As David delves deeper into Margot’s life, he uncovers troubling details through her social media accounts. It becomes clear that Margot has become increasingly isolated since her mother’s passing. Detective Vick informs David that Margot had created a fake ID and that traffic camera footage shows her car outside the city, suggesting she may have run away. However, David refuses to accept this theory.
In his quest for answers, David discovers that Margot had been using a streaming site called YouCast, where she befriended a young woman named Hannah under an anonymous username. Detective Vick investigates Hannah, only to find that she was in Pittsburgh at the time of Margot’s disappearance, clearing her of any involvement. David’s search leads him to Margot’s Tumblr account, where he learns she frequently visited Barbosa Lake, the last known location where she was seen.
David’s determination grows as he finds Margot’s Pokémon keychain at Barbosa Lake, and the police subsequently discover her car submerged underwater. While her body is not found, the envelope containing the $2,500 raises more questions. A search party is organized, but a storm hampers their efforts. After a confrontation with a boy claiming to know Margot’s whereabouts, Detective Vick informs David that he can no longer participate in the investigation.
Refusing to give up, David turns to TMZ, where he spots his brother Peter’s jacket in crime scene photographs. This leads him to discover text messages between Margot and Peter, hinting at a troubling relationship. When confronted, Peter insists they were merely confiding in each other while smoking marijuana. He chastises David for neglecting Margot, who is still grieving her mother’s death.
As the investigation unfolds, Detective Vick informs David of a shocking confession from an ex-convict named Randy Cartoff, who claims to have raped and killed Margot before taking his own life. This revelation leads to an empty-casket funeral for Margot, where David uploads photos to a funeral streaming site and notices a stock photograph of Hannah.
David’s investigation takes a turn when he learns that Hannah is a stock model and has no connection to Margot. He attempts to reach Detective Vick, only to discover that she was never assigned to the case but had volunteered herself. Further digging reveals that Vick knew Cartoff through a volunteer program for ex-convicts. When David reports this to the sheriff, Vick is arrested at the funeral.
In a shocking twist, Vick agrees to confess in exchange for leniency for her son, Robert. She reveals that Robert had been using the YouCast account as “Hannah” to get close to Margot, who believed he was a working-class girl with a sick mother. The money Margot sent was intended for Robert, who wanted to return it in person. However, a tragic accident occurs when Robert surprises Margot in her car, leading to her falling off a cliff into a ravine.
Vick’s cover-up of the incident involves pushing Margot’s car into the lake and fabricating evidence. She claims Margot is still in the ravine, suggesting she could not have survived without water. However, David recalls the storm that occurred during the search, which could have provided Margot with enough water to survive. This realization prompts a renewed search effort.
In a miraculous turn of events, the rescue crew finds Margot severely injured but alive. Two years later, as she applies for