7 One Chicago Characters Who Disappeared Without A Trace

Between a grand total of four shows, NBC's One Chicago franchise has broadcast nearly 40 seasons of television so far, and three of the four are just months away from returning with new episodes. While several actors, such as Chicago Fire's Taylor Kinney, Chicago P.D.'s Jason Beghe, and Chicago Med's S. Epatha Merkerson, have been on board from the very beginning of their various shows, other characters have disappeared out of nowhere, with nary an explanation for where they went.

The fourth series, Chicago Justice, was cancelled after just one season, and even then, certain series regulars were simply moved over to other shows within the Dick Wolf TV universe. One Chicago fans are fortunate enough that departing actors often stay on (or return) long enough for an on-screen farewell. Monica Raymund and Alberto Rosende did it on Fire, Jesse Lee Soffer did it (and LaRoyce Hawkins will soon do it) on P.D., and Colin Donnell and Norma Kuhling did it on Med.

Then, there are cases like Chicago P.D.'s Jon Seda, whose exit was slightly set up in the season 5 finale, and details about Antonio's absence were delivered without Seda appearing on screen. Antonio's exit was explained suitably enough on P.D. (and Fire) that he didn't exactly disappear without a trace, and he's an example of how One Chicago can set up an exit and then explain it afterward. Other characters are written out like afterthoughts, if they're given even that much.

Vanessa Rojas (Lisseth Chavez)

Chicago P.D.

Officer Vanessa Rojas joined the Intelligence Unit in season 7 of Chicago P.D., and she quickly formed bonds with Upton and Atwater. She gained a reputation within the unit as a talented undercover officer, a cop still learning some of the ropes, and the biggest fan of "Upstead," a.k.a. the then-unconfirmed romance between Upton and Halstead. Season 7 ended without any sign that Rojas wouldn't be back, but season 8 arrived with the officer nowhere to be seen, and no explanation was ever given for where she went.

At the time, showrunner Rick Eid addressed why Rojas was neither seen nor mentioned in the season 8 premiere, telling TVLine:

It's always hard to say goodbye to a character. We tried to address it in the premiere, but it felt forced. In other words, we're still working on it.

It's possible that her exit would have actually been set up if the COVID-19 pandemic hadn't forced an early end to season 7, but the show ultimately never explained where Rojas went. It seems unlikely that Chicago P.D. season 14 will deliver an answer so many years after she was written out. Leaving P.D. wasn't the end of Lisseth Chavez's time playing a cop on television, however; she has been a series regular on ABC's The Rookie since season 5.

Crockett Marcel (Dominic Rains)

Chicago Med

Dominic Rains joined the cast of Chicago Med in season 5 as Crockett Marcel, the medical drama's new main surgeon after the exit of Connor Rhodes. In true One Chicago fashion, Crockett would engage in a few workplace romances before his exit was announced between the end of season 9 and the premiere of season 10. The ninth season ended with Crockett ready for a break from the action at Gaffney Med, since his decision about a young boy's need for a liver transplant resulted in the boy's death and his father's suicide.

Not only did he feel guilty for that ordeal, but it triggered his lingering trauma from the death of his own daughter. Still, the finale didn't indicate that Crockett would be gone for good, and the news broke about Dominic Rains leaving the cast over summer hiatus. The season 10 premiere established via a very brief conversation that he'd moved to Boston for a fresh start after the events of season 9.

The tenth season picked up with a new showrunner, which could have contributed to Rains (and Crockett) being written out. There was technically an explanation for his disappearance, but hardly enough of one for somebody who had been a main character for years.

Emily Foster (Annie Ilonzeh)

Chicago Fire

Chicago Fire has cycled through many paramedics in the years since Monica Raymund left, and Emily Foster was the first one to join Brett after she lost Dawson as a partner. Foster had a juicy backstory, with Brett quickly learning that she had been a surgical resident at a Chicago hospital before she was kicked out of the program for cheating on her boards. Foster initially decided not to take her chance to return to her career as a doctor in season 7, but changed her mind towards the end of season 8.

All signs did point to her deciding to leave Firehouse 51 to pursue becoming a doctor again, so Fire did set up her departure better than most characters who never returned after a finale. At the same time, signs also seemed to point toward Foster just moving over to One Chicago's main hospital, with Annie Ilonzeh switching from working as a series regular on Fire to a series regular on Chicago Med. Instead, she was never seen again after the pandemic shutdowns forced an early end to season 7.

Kiana Cook (Toya Turner)

Chicago P.D.

Toya Turner joined the cast of Chicago P.D. as a series regular for season 12, and Kiana Cook quickly adjusted to the Intelligence Unit's tendency to cross lines in the line of duty. Cook formed a strong bond with Torres, and the police drama spent multiple episodes fleshing out her backstory and building up her character. She was last seen attending Burgess and Ruzek's wedding in the season 12 finale, with no indication that she wouldn't be back. Turner's exit was announced during the summer hiatus ahead of season 13.

Her absence was at least addressed more than Rojas' had been. Voight revealed in the season 13 premiere that Cook had taken a position in the 17th District after the Intelligence Unit had been disbanded due to their misdeeds in the previous season's finale. That said, Voight was able to bring the rest of the unit back together before the end of the premiere, and there was no reason why he couldn't have gotten Cook back as well.

The explanation for her absence didn't tie off the loose ends for her character, and that could have been fixed if P.D. had brought Turner back for at least a cameo. She wouldn't have gotten a sendoff quite like longtime star Jesse Lee Soffer did, when he returned for a few episodes before leaving P.D. as a series regular, but a scene or two like Gallo got on Chicago Fire could have been enough that she wouldn't feel like she disappeared without a trace.

Maggie Lockwood (Marlyne Barrett)

Chicago Med

Marlyne Barrett's Charge Nurse Maggie Lockwood was a main character on Chicago Med from the very beginning through to season 10, and she was still in the thick of the action when the tenth season ended. News then broke over hiatus that Barrett would be absent from at least the start of season 11. At the time, showrunner Allen MacDonald addressed whether Barrett would return. He told People:

It is currently unclear. Marlyne approached us and said that she needed to take some personal time, and we of course love her and support her in doing that. And from a storytelling standpoint, I would love to have her back.

Med delivered the bare minimum of explanation for where Maggie was in the season 11 premiere. Dr. Charles asked Goodwin if she'd "heard from Maggie since she left," with Goodwin replying that she hadn't heard a "peep." Goodwin later complimented Doris for stepping up to fill Maggie's shoes as charge nurse, and Doris responded that she was "just keeping them warm until she comes back."

There's currently no indication that Maggie will be back in season 12. At the time of her disappearance, she was one of only three series regulars who had been present from the start, and Med never explained where she went beyond some cryptic clues to start season 11.

Gianna Mackey (Adriyan Rae)

Chicago Fire

Gianna Mackey arrived on Chicago Fire in season 9 as Brett's new paramedic partner, and all signs pointed towards Adriyan Rae joining the cast as a series regular through at least the end of that season. Mackey even had a connection to Firehouse 51 from the start, thanks to a childhood bond with Cruz. A workplace romance was heating up between her and Gallo. Then, after just nine episodes at Firehouse 51, she accepted an officer to become paramedic-in-charge at Firehouse 33.

She told Cruz that she didn't want to stay at 51 because she couldn't stand the idea of watching him get hurt after she lost her brother. Her decision felt abrupt after Fire had invested screentime into developing her as a character for the long term, and a move to 33 really wasn't enough to justify why she'd never been seen again. The firefighters and paramedics from 51 encounter heroes from the other houses all the time. Showrunner Derek Haas explained why Mackey was written out so suddenly back in 2021, telling Entertainment Weekly:

Adriyan let us know she had some private reasons to leave Chicago. To hear that as a showrunner, you absolutely respect what an actor needs. All I can say is we love her and I know she's going to be great on some other series. And she left 51 on great terms, so there's a chance we could check in on her. We're always looking for something to boost up a crossover! I don't think we've seen the last of Mackey in Firehouse 51.

Despite Haas' hopes, Adriyan Rae did not return to One Chicago after exiting in the first half of season 9, and Mackey's unsatisfying ending was never redeemed.

Erin Lindsay (Sophia Bush)

Chicago P.D.

Arguably the biggest cast departure in the history of the One Chicago franchise to that point was Sophia Bush, who had been the leading lady of Chicago P.D. from the very beginning to the season 4 finale. Lindsay had a complicated past even before she joined Sergeant Voight's Intelligence Unit, and her relationship with Jay Halstead didn't involve a lot of smooth sailing. The season 4 finale did set up that Lindsay would need to relocate to New York City to join an FBI narcotics unit to escape heat from CPD's Internal Affairs.

She was never seen again, and her exit was barely explained in season 5. Her absence affected Halstead as the fifth season continued, but Voight telling him that it was "time for her to move on" and he needed "to make peace with it" wasn't enough for the character who had been so key to the first four seasons. That said, Sophia Bush explained her reasons for exiting on Dax Shepard's Armchair Expert podcast:

I realized that as I was thinking I was like being the tough guy, doing the thing, showing up to work, I programmed myself to tolerate the intolerable. Part of the big break for me in saying, ‘No. I don’t necessarily know what it is, but I know that what’s happening is not good for me and everything has to change.’ That was a big cut off point when I quit my job... The reality was that my body was, like, falling apart, because I was really, really unhappy.

While Bush avoided going into specifics, she alluded to being told that if she decided to "raise a ruckus," she would "cost everyone their job." Bush shared that she eventually told her bosses that they could "put me in the position of going quietly of my own accord or you can put me in the position of suing the network to get me out of my deal and I’ll write an op-ed for The New York Times and tell them why." Jason Beghe's behavior is alleged (via Variety) to have played into Bush's decision to leave Chicago P.D.

Lindsay disappearing without an on-screen goodbye makes sense with why Bush decided that she was finished with One Chicago, and it's likely for the best that she was able to move on to projects like Good Sam, Love Victor, and Grey's Anatomy in the following years.