The original title of the show was "Vanished", but when CBS opted to pick it up the title was changed to "Without a Trace".
During each episode, a 15-second presentation appears, asking the public for help in finding real-life missing persons. The FBI provides a picture and descriptive information about the missing person to be displayed with a voice-over message recorded by one of the series stars.
A few episodes are based on real life disappearances.