The Searchers
In The Searchers (1956), Ethan spends five years on a lonely quest to hunt down the tribe that holds the girl Debbie. The niece of Ethan Edwards (Wayne) is kidnapped by Comanches who murder her family and burn their ranch house. Ethan then sets on an obsessive quest to find his niece. Ethan harbors a deep hatred for the Comanche to the extent that he mutilates a dead Comanche body when they come across a Comanche burial ground.
During winter, Ethan and his search partner, Martin lose their trail and head back to the Jorgensen Ranch. While in Jorgensen, Ethan receives a letter by a trader who claims to have information on Debbie. Ethan leaves alone the next morning, but Martin catches up with him later on. On reaching the trading post, Ethan and Martin learn that Debbie was taken up by Scar, the chief of Nawyecka band of Commanches.
The search leads them to New Mexico where a Mexican man leads them to scar. To their dismay, they find Debbie living as one of the wives of Scar. Debbie further tells them that she is a Comanche and wishes to continue living as one of them. Due to the deep hatred, Ethan feels for Indians; he would rather see Debbie dead than to see her living as an Indian. He tries to shoot her, but Martin shields her.
The movie reaches a climax when Martin kills Scar and Ethan pursues Debbie; this time not to kill her but to rescue back. The five-year quest ends with a reunion of the family in the Jorgensen Ranch.