<P> Twenty - two years after Mary 's death , John disappears while on a hunt , forcing Sam and Dean to reunite in an unsuccessful attempt to find him . Sam returns to the life of a hunter after Azazel kills his girlfriend . John reluctantly chooses to avoid his sons throughout most of the season while he investigates something , eventually reuniting with them in the episode `` Shadow . '' However , the demonic Meg Masters attacks them and reveals that Azazel is after John . After escaping from Meg , the brothers split up from their father to keep him from the demons . When vampires murder his old mentor and steal the Colt -- a mystical gun capable of killing anything -- John teams up with Sam and Dean in `` Dead Man 's Blood '' to retrieve it . Because demons can not be killed by conventional means , they hope that the Colt will be effective against Azazel . In response , Meg begins killing the Winchesters ' friends in `` Salvation , '' and threatens to kill more unless they deliver the Colt . John is captured after trying to give her a fake gun , and reveals himself to be possessed by Azazel when the brothers come to his rescue in the first season finale `` Devil 's Trap . '' However , he manages to resist the demon 's control . Despite John 's pleas for Sam to shoot him with the Colt , Sam can not bring himself to do so and allows Azazel to escape . As the Winchesters flee in Dean 's Impala , a demonically - possessed trucker crashes into them . </P>
<P> Twenty - two years after Mary 's death , John disappears while on a hunt , forcing Sam and Dean to reunite in an unsuccessful attempt to find him . Sam returns to the life of a hunter after Azazel kills his girlfriend . John reluctantly chooses to avoid his sons throughout most of the season while he investigates something , eventually reuniting with them in the episode `` Shadow . '' However , the demonic Meg Masters attacks them and reveals that Azazel is after John . After escaping from Meg , the brothers split up from their father to keep him from the demons . When vampires murder his old mentor and steal the Colt -- a mystical gun capable of killing anything -- John teams up with Sam and Dean in `` Dead Man 's Blood '' to retrieve it . Because demons can not be killed by conventional means , they hope that the Colt will be effective against Azazel . In response , Meg begins killing the Winchesters ' friends in `` Salvation , '' and threatens to kill more unless they deliver the Colt . John is captured after trying to give her a fake gun , and reveals himself to be possessed by Azazel when the brothers come to his rescue in the first season finale `` Devil 's Trap . '' However , he manages to resist the demon 's control . Despite John 's pleas for Sam to shoot him with the Colt , Sam can not bring himself to do so and allows Azazel to escape . As the Winchesters flee in Dean 's Impala , a demonically - possessed trucker crashes into them . </P>
when do dean and sam find their dad
when do dean and sam find their dad
in the episode `` Shadow . ''
in the episode `` Shadow . ''