I Will Find You (2026) is a Netflix limited series adaptation of Harlan Coben’s 2023 crime thriller novel of the same name. The show stars Sam Worthington as David Burroughs, Britt Lower as Burroughs’ sister-in-law, and Milo Ventimiglia as her former boyfriend.
Premise: Wrongfully imprisoned for murdering his own son, a father escapes on a desperate rescue mission after learning the boy may still be alive. The FBI joins the hunt to capture and return him to prison. (Netflix)
I sat down to watch this 8-episode series because I heard it was trending on Netflix in the number one spot. At the end of the first episode, David Burroughs escapes from prison, and I’m hooked and ready to binge the next seven more.
And then… two special agents from the FBI’s Boston Fugitive Task Force popped up in episode two. I had no idea this series featured the FBI. I love pleasant surprises.
I finished binging the show in two-days. I really enjoyed it. It was a lesson in how to develop unexpected plot twists, something I want to master in my own crime novels.
But something about the plot kept throwing me out of the story. Why was Burroughs, who was allegedly wrongly convicted of bludgeoning his son to death in his bed in their small town near Boston, Massachusetts, in prison in Maine?
My investigative curiosity got the best of me. So I downloaded the I Will Find You audiobook. Was there a change made in the story’s adaptation from book to film that explained this? No, there was not. But I discovered that in the book, the special agent partners were switched from an older Black male and a younger Black female to a gay White male and a redheaded White female. Interesting creative choice.
Since I review movies and TV shows to discuss teachable moments about FBI policies, procedures, and programs, I need to talk about when the FBI investigates murders and when the FBI hunts for escaped prisoners.
Many crime dramas portray FBI agents investigating local murders. However, the lead investigators for most murders are local or state law enforcement officers, and the murderers, when apprehended, are tried in state court. That’s why our fugitive task force agents focused on apprehending Burroughs and not on whether he was innocent of the crime.
Were you wondering why the FBI agents assigned to track the fugitive father were from the Boston Division’s Fugitive Task Force? It’s because the field office has jurisdiction over all of Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island. There are three resident agencies or satellite offices in Maine, in Augusta, Bangor, and Portland, but let’s assume the Boston agents were assigned because they knew Burroughs would be headed their way.
It should be noted that in real life, escaped inmates would be pursued, at least initially, by state police and local sheriff’s offices, with assistance from the state’s Department of Corrections personnel. The FBI and/or the U.S. Marshals Service would be called in if the escapee crosses state lines or the manhunt goes on for an extended period.
To learn how the FBI provides assistance to local law enforcement agencies when an inmate escapes from prison, listen to FBI Case File Review episode 125: Keith Tolhurst – Grand Canyon Prison Escapee, Tracking Dogs.
