Hunting Ground

Reports of a scream in the Everglades lead Horatio to find a Haitian man beside the dead body of Enrique, a Cuban. Enrique has been shot with an expensive arrow, which has pinned him to a tree. Both men have been branded with a number and have ankle wounds – they had been shackled together. The survivor, Jean Guiton, explains that he and several others had been smuggled into the country with the promise of freedom, only to be separated from their families and released into the Everglades to be tracked and killed for sport by wealthy hunters. His brother, Henri, is still held captive.

Ryan and Natalia find a hunter’s perch high in a tree from which the bowman shot Enrique. They also find the bow nearby, a top-of-the-line item. Calleigh believes the arrow was bought from Father’s Pride, a shop in the Everglades run by a Wesley Habeck, but he denies any knowledge of a human hunt. He does, however, produce the name of the arrow’s purchaser: wealthy trader Steve Raymer, though he claims his credit card was stolen.

The team discover the smuggler supplying the ‘prey’ for the hunts, Javier Lopez, and upon raiding his property, find Enrique’s wife and daughter. Under duress, Lopez reveals his buyer – Habek! Horatio and Ryan rush to the shop but it’s deserted. They find Habek’s van, however, and plant a tracking device.

Meanwhile, the extraction of DNA from a leech found in the perch produces a match with Steve Raymer, placing him in the perch that morning. He was Enrique's killer.

Habeck’s van is on the move - he’s taking another hunting party out and this time Henri Guiton is one of the hunted. Natalia and Tripp arrive just in time to prevent them killing their prey, while Horatio arrests Habek and reunites Jean with his brother Henri.