Why Did They Kill off Nikki Batista on the Fox Series ‘Alert: Missing Persons Unit?’

Watching television means that you ultimately develop a connection to the characters you watch every week, and as such, you come to expect that sometimes those characters don’t have the happy ending you hoped for. This is the case for fans of the Fox series Alert: Missing Persons Unit, who are mourning the death of Captain Nikki Batista.

Portrayed by actor Dania Ramirez, Nikki is one of the leads of the procedural cop drama series alongside Scott Caan. Nikki has been a focal point of the series since its premiere in January 2023.

In an interview with TV Insider, series executive producer and showrunner Carla Kettner explained Nikki’s shocking departure. “The biggest factor was our commitment to keeping the show fresh and surprising,” she began.

“We had kind of played out the love triangle dynamic between Nikki, Jason, and Mike, which was such a great part of Seasons 1 and 2. So the question became: What circumstance would most challenge our MPU team? Losing the person they all most depended on — Nikki — was the answer,” she told the outlet.

“We had planted the seeds very early on with our exploration of Nikki’s relationship with Irish mob boss Charlie McGannon. Making Charlie responsible for Nikki’s ultimate death, and having Nikki still get him in the end, was the best way to honor Nikki’s heroism,” Carla added.

In the April 2025 episode titled “Badge #41870,” Nikki is kidnapped by a felon she previously arrested. The Alert team goes full force into finding her whereabouts through a detailed investigation. Tragically, by the time the team finds her, she is already dead.

Nikki’s ex-husband and Alert team member, Detective Jason Grant, finds her body at an isolated location and discovers that Nikki died as a result of a gunshot to the head. Despite her unexpected death, Nikki appears to have left a trail for the team to find the person responsible for her death. She left a letter as evidence against the Irish mob boss who was responsible for her kidnapping and ultimately ordered her death.

In a separate interview with TV Line, Carla shared what’s next for the series now that Nikki is gone. “Alert is about finding missing people, so that will always be core to our episodes and our arcs,” she said.

“We said, 'I’ll get your baby back' enough times that it was in danger of becoming a cliché, so although the words may be gone, the spirit — which is actually the important part — lives on. What I hope people take away from Season 3 is that we’re not afraid to keep things surprising because that’s the best kind of ride,” Carla continued.

“My only rule is that surprises need to be authentic and challenge our characters. Now that you know that’s part of our DNA, I’ve given you a big clue to more surprises later in the season!” she added.