Missing Person

Rodney Rathbone leaves for baseball practice one morning... and nobody sees him again all day. While Officer O'Ryan searches Odyssey, a troubling clue surfaces: Rodney hates baseball, skipped practice on purpose, and packed a knapsack - the kind of thing a boy takes when he's running away from a father who only listens when the subject is sports. Meanwhile, Isaac Morton's shortcut leads him and Lucy to a crumbling barn at Gower's Field, where Isaac trips over something in the dark and finds Rodney pinned under fallen beams. While Lucy runs for help, the bully and his favorite target are left with nothing to do but talk, and Isaac admits he once ran away himself - and learned his dad cared more about him than anything he was good at. By the time the rescue crews pull Rodney free, his father is ready for a long talk about baseball, and maybe some time fixing that mini-bike together. As for whether Rodney will stop picking on Isaac at school... not a chance.

Found on Beyond Expectations Album 08 · 14 episodes

The run See every episode

0115 An Act of Mercy When a farmer's kindness toward a young apple thief goes unappreciated, he finds a more hands-on way to teach the boy about mercy.

0116 Isaac the Benevolent When Isaac Morton memorizes the Golden Rule but can't figure out how to actually live it, his well-meaning attempts to help the people of Odyssey keep backfiring in ways he never expected.

0117 The Trouble with Girls When a classmate's love notes start piling up in his desk, Jimmy discovers that every clever scheme for discouraging a crush only makes things worse.

0118 What Happened to the Silver Streak? When a prized model train engine vanishes from Whit's End, an amateur investigation puts a girl with a troubled past under suspicion - but the truth is harder to find than anyone expects.

0119 Better Late than Never A girl notorious for being late to everything gets one unforgettable night to discover just how much her habit could cost her.

0120 Pranks for the Memories Odyssey's self-proclaimed prank master is so sure no one can fool him that a simple act of kindness sends him spiraling into an elaborate counterattack of his own making.

0121 Missing Person When the town bully vanishes on the morning of the state fair, the search for him uncovers more than one secret - and puts his least likely rescuer on the trail.

1 of 2 0122 Castles and Cauldrons A summer visit from Jimmy's cousin Len turns unsettling when the "game" packed in his suitcase demands secrecy, incantations, and total trust.

2 of 2 0123 Castles and Cauldrons When Jimmy's out-of-town cousin introduces him to a fantasy role-playing game that demands ever-deeper commitment, the line between make-believe and something far darker begins to blur.

0124 The Winning Edge When a win-at-all-costs new coach takes over a girls' softball team, his hunger for a championship pushes two young friends on rival teams toward a collision neither of them wants.

0125 All's Well with Boswell Robyn's first babysitting job takes an unexpected turn when her charge turns out to be a giant, spoiled cat with a talent for chaos.

0126 Wishful Thinking When her little brother's constant pestering pushes her past her limit, a teenage girl makes a careless wish that shows her exactly what life would be like without him.

0127 Have You No Selpurcs? When a quiz at Whit's End exposes very different ideas about honesty, Mr. Whittaker invents a mysterious game called Selpurcs to teach two kids a lesson neither of them sees coming.

Featured characters

Minor characters & crew 2 more roles

2 supporting roles

Officer Patrick O'Ryan Will Ryan Jay Brandt Donald Long

Made by

Chris Anthony Host Paul McCusker Writer · Director Dave Arnold Sound Designer · Producer Chuck Bolte Executive Producer

The story

Read the full synopsis 3 min

The state fair has come to Odyssey, and the whole town is out enjoying it. Whit's End is packed with customers, and John Avery Whittaker and Eugene Meltsner are scooping ice cream as fast as they can when Officer Patrick O'Ryan stops in with a question instead of an order. Mrs. Rathbone has called the police station: Rodney left for baseball practice that morning and nobody has seen him since. Whit has not seen the boy either, and O'Ryan heads off to the Rathbone house, hoping Rodney has simply wandered over to the fairgrounds.

Across town, Isaac Morton is leading Lucy Cunningham-Schultz on a walk she did not agree to until he finally admits where they are going. Tom Riley has invited Isaac out to his farm to learn to ride a horse, and Isaac may bring a friend. On the way, the two spot Officer O'Ryan's car stopping at the Rathbones' house, and Isaac cannot help hoping Rodney is about to be arrested. Rodney has picked on him after school for a long time, and the idea of him simply vanishing sounds wonderful. Lucy tells him plainly that this is no way for a Christian to talk. When O'Ryan asks the two of them whether they have seen Rodney, Isaac learns that the older boy is not in trouble at all - he is missing.

O'Ryan's questions at the Rathbone house turn up more puzzles than answers. Bart Rathbone insists his wife is worrying over nothing, that Rodney takes care of himself, and that the boy was perfectly happy when he set off for practice because he loves baseball. But Rodney's friend Jay Brandt lets something slip that changes the whole picture: Rodney skipped practice on purpose, because he hates baseball and told Jay the night before that he never wanted to go again. Jay says Rodney's father would go through the roof if he found out. Whit joins the search, and O'Ryan quietly shares his own theory - a witness saw Rodney carrying a knapsack along with his glove and bat, which is not what a boy takes to baseball practice. It is what a boy takes when he is running away.

Isaac's shortcut, meanwhile, has taken him and Lucy far off course, all the way out to Gower's Field, where a rusted tractor sits beside an old barn with a caved-in roof. Isaac goes in to explore despite Lucy's warnings, trips over something in the dark, and discovers it is not a piece of wood at all. It is Rodney, pinned under fallen beams from the collapsed hayloft.

Lucy runs for help while Isaac stays behind, and the two boys are left with nothing to do but talk. Rodney is scraped up but unhurt, and just as rude as ever, though the truth comes out anyway. He ran because he hates baseball and would rather work on his mini-bike, and because his father only listens when the subject is sports. Isaac surprises him by admitting he once ran away himself, afraid to tell his own father that he wanted to take an art class instead of shop. What he found out, when people came looking for him, was that his dad cared more about him than about anything he was or was not good at.

Out in the woods, O'Ryan presses Bart until he finally admits there was an argument that morning, and that he blew up when Rodney said he wanted to quit the team. Then Lucy comes running with the news. The rescue crews reach the barn, and when Rodney is freed his father hands him a long restriction for scaring the whole town half to death - followed by an offer of a good, long talk about baseball, and maybe some time spent fixing that mini-bike together. Rodney says he would like that.

Bart even thanks Isaac for finding his son, and Rodney manages a grudging thanks of his own. As Officer O'Ryan walks him home, Isaac asks whether any of this means Rodney will stop picking on him at school. Isaac answers his own question before the officer can: not a chance.