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See the Haunting Scene When Benson Rescued Missing Maddie Flynn in SVU Season 25

The kidnapping of Maddie Flynn was one of Benson's toughest cases in the last season of SVU.

By Jessica White

There are dozens — dare we say, hundreds — of must-watch Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episodes. But few could forget the Season 25 storyline involving an ill-fated kidnapping and an unexpected witness: Captain Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) herself.

How to Watch

Watch Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Thursdays at 9/8c on NBC and next day on Peacock.

While most victims in an episode see justice by the time the credits roll, Season 25 spotlighted a missing persons case that took a toll on Benson over the course of the entire season. 

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Benson eventually helped put Maddie's kidnapper behind bars for life, but it was an emotionally charged challenge.

Captain Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) appears in Season 25 Episode 7 of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

How did Benson first learn of Maddie Flynn's case on SVU?

In SVU's Season 25 premiere ("Tunnel Blind"), Benson noticed a sullen teenager in the passenger seat of a food delivery van as she was driving with her own son. However, sunlight hitting Benson's windshield obstructed her view of the driver.

She later got a call about a kidnapping, and discovered the victim — and the girl she'd seen in the van — were Maddie Flynn.

After discovering Maddie's image was used for an online sex doll catalog service, the squad was left with hundreds of potential leads and no idea of where to begin.

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After scouring through the names and even reaching out to Amanda Rollins (Kelli Giddish) for help, Benson realized that the suspect was likely someone who became obsessed with the sex doll made in Maddie's image.

But, with no clues and the unknown kidnapper seemingly on the move, Maddie's case grew cold, frustrating both Benson and Maddie's parents.

Captain Olivia Benson on Law And Order Svu Episode 2513

What was Benson's first break in Maddie Flynn's case in SVU Season 25?

Benson finally made some headway in Maddie's case in Season 25, Episode 5 ("Zone Rouge").

Maddie was brought onto a train in Pittsburgh by her kidnapper; she was drugged, and her hair was cut and dyed so that she'd resemble a boy. But she managed to give another train passenger a note asking them to call the NYPD.

Benson then went to Pittsburgh, where she met FBI agent Shannah Sykes (Jordan Spiro), a behavior analyst and expert on child abduction. (Sykes' sister had been abducted when she was a teenager.)

With her help, the squad discovered that Maddie had been abducted by a human trafficker named George Brouchard (Patrick Carroll), who had been hired on the dark web by Gordon Franks (Jason Martin), a disturbed pedophile on the sex doll order list who was obsessed with Maddie.

FBI Special Agent Shannah Sykes holds coffee on Law and order SVU

How did the squad find Maddie Flynn on Law & Order: SVU?

The squad traced Gordon to a remote cabin where they found an emaciated Maddie lying on a mattress in the fetal position in the basement.

Gordon was swiftly arrested, Maddie was taken to the hospital, and Benson finally got to call the Flynn family with some much-awaited good news.

RELATED: Where to Watch and Stream Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

While Gordon had not abused Maddie while he was her captor, she told the squad that Brouchard had sexually assaulted her after he kidnapped her. 

Brouchard was convicted at trial and sentenced to life, but Maddie was also left to navigate withdrawal from the drugs he'd forced her to take and harrowing PTSD.

Benson introducing Maddie to the same therapist who'd helped her navigate her own trauma and, in the Season 25 finale ("Duty to Hope"), she joined the Flynn family for Maddie's sixteenth birthday.

Maddie Flynn and Benson in the hospital in Episode 2505 of Law and Order SVU

Watch the Season 26 premiere of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit on Thursday, October 3 at 9/8c on NBC.