Published June 18, 2026, 1:00 p.m. ET

I Will Find You’s ending is a real doozy. Harlan Coben, you’ve done it again. 

In Netflix’s I Will Find You, a father’s commitment to his child is put to the test as David Burroughs (Sam Worthington), who spent the last five years in prison after being convicted of murdering his son, discovers that his boy may still be alive after all. When David’s sister-in-law, Rachel (Britt Lower), brings him a picture of a young child that looks exactly like Matthew (distinctive birthmark on the cheek and all!), the hunt to track down his missing and previously believed to be dead son begins. So, the question is, what would you do and how far would you go to find out the truth, especially if the truth means finding your child? 

If that sounds at all interesting to you, this might be your sign to go back and watch the entire series, which is now streaming on Netflix. Then again, you may be here because you’ve already binged roughly eight hours or a twisty-turny drama and need a breakdown of everything that happens in the action-packed finale. Whatever your reason for being here is, we’re happy to have you. 

Here’s a full ending explained for the Season 1 finale of I Will Find You, including an answer to the biggest question of them all: Who took Matthew and why? Here’s everything you need to know about the ending of Netflix’s I Will Find You…

I Will Find You Ending Explained: Who Took Matthew and Why?

Turns out, you don’t even have to jump all the way to the finale, a.k.a. Episode 8 of I Will Find You, to figure out who took Matthew, as it’s revealed at the end of Episode 7 that Hayden (Milo Ventimiglia) is the person responsible for Matthew’s kidnapping. Those who haven’t watched much of the show or only know Hayden as the good guy who offered Rachel a place to stay and gave David some help as he evaded the FBI might be confused by how he factors into the equation and that’s the part that requires a little more explanation.

You see, after Rachel and Hayden broke up several years prior to everything unfolding, Hayden found out that someone named Rachel Mills went to a fertility clinic to undergo artificial insemination. Thinking that Rachel wanted to have a child and knowing that he still was in love with her, being the wealthy and well-connected man he is, Hayden paid the clinic to use his own sperm to get Rachel pregnant. Only problem? Cheryl was the real patient and was just using her sister’s name to stay off the books and have a sense of anonymity. At the time, she and David had been trying to conceive for a while, so she decided to go out on her own and try to get pregnant with a sperm donor, then chose to raise the child with David as his own.

Ultimately, Hayden found out that it was Cheryl, not Rachel, who ended up using his sperm and having a child following the insemination. So, there you have it, right? Hayden took Matthew because it was his son, right? WRONG. Hayden is not the father of Matthew and DNA tests that said otherwise were doctored by his own mother, Gertrude Payne (Madeleine Stowe), to validate Hayden’s delusion. It turns out that Cheryl did visit the fertility clinic and did decide to go through with it, but the next morning, she woke up feeling sick and took a pregnancy test that came back positive. After years of trying to get pregnant with David, their vigorous attempts finally paid off, making her artificial insemination null and void.

It’s only after David tells Hayden that this whole situation has been a big misunderstanding and that real DNA proves David is the father of Matthew, now called Theo by Hayden and Gertrude Payne. At the luxurious Payne residence, Rachel attempts to sneak David into the house to help him take Matthew back, which, of course, goes haywire quickly. The plot is figured out by Hayden, who begins a shootout on the property, hitting and killing his own mother and attempting to drive off with Matthew before David shoots out one of his tires. As the car comes to a stop, Matthew takes off for the woods at the property’s edge with David and Hayden chasing after him.

Face to face in the woods, Hayden shoots David and is about to kill him when Rachel and Agent Greer (Logan Browning) arrive just in time to take out Hayden, all as Matthew watches in terror. The series concludes with a flash forward several months later after David’s father has passed away and the whole family is reunited to celebrate his life. It appears that David and Matthew are finally starting to figure out a new sense of normalcy and in one final shot, David and Rachel hold hands and glance at each other to acknowledge that they will do everything together from here on out.

Whose Body Did Cops Find At David’s House The Night Matthew Disappeared?

While that may have been a lengthy breakdown of the finale, you might find yourself asking the question: If Matthew was alive, whose bloodied body did they find on the night of the kidnapping? Good question. As noted above, the Payne family is not only wealthy, but they are also well connected and involved in several major charities around the world. One of their charitable endeavors just so happens to be an orphanage, where they found Martin, a young boy who they believed could pass for Matthew’s age and body type.

Thinking it was the only opportunity to take Matthew in the dark of the night, Hayden killed Martin and swapped his body in where Matthew’s would be, even swapping DNA and planting samples to prove the body belonged to David’s son. This only worked because the body of the dead boy was so mangled from being bludgeoned with a bat that police were willing to take their DNA sample as all the proof they needed. In the end, it was David and Rachel’s commitment to finding the truth — as well as international police detective Muller (Tom Morton) searching to figure out what really happened to Martin that this case was solved. Without the team effort, it’s quite possible the case would never have been cracked.

I Will Find You is now streaming on Netflix.

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