Missing Movie Ending Explained — Are Grace and June OK?

While we think we may have fully grasped the plot or ending of a movie, it’s so easy for the conclusion to slip our minds, especially if the storyline or ending can be considered confusing. We often misremember things to the point where we second-guess ourselves as time goes on. While the sequel to the smash hit drama-thriller Searching (2018), starring actor John Cho, was deemed to be a success, those who watched Missing (2023) may still be mulling over how the movie ended.

If you are left with questions about the end of Missing and are eager to know if June Allen (Storm Reid)’s mother Grace (Nia Long) is ever found, here’s the end of Missing, explained.

By the end of Missing, it’s revealed to the audience that Grace never actually made it to Colombia. Grace and her boyfriend going on vacation was lie made up by Kevin, in collaboration with June’s father James (Tim Griffin), when the two met in prison years before.

James kidnapped Grace after posing as her driver to the airport and held her hostage for the duration of the film. James had been hunting for June following her move to Los Angeles with her mother, where they changed their last names.

June was left with the impression that her father had died when she was young but was only told this to protect her from how dangerous he truly was. It was also revealed that the woman in “vacation” pictures was not Grace but an actress that Kevin had hired to stand in as her to avoid any potential suspicion.

After Kevin mistakenly sends a picture of the actress to June, she investigates Grace’s whereabouts, where she’s seen being held captive near their former home. June is then kidnapped.

Though his daughter is close to discovering how James is involved in this ongoing crime, James abducts her too, and she and her mother are reunited. Fortunately for June and Grace, the pair are able to escape their captor by using the iPhone feature Siri, leading them to their freedom away from James by the film’s end.

June stabs her father, killing him, and then is able to call the police to report the situation. The very last bit of the film follows their daily lives post-abduction.