Barbara Dunlap is the older sister of Karen Vick, with whom she has an unhealthy rivalry. Barbara is a commander in the US National Coast Guard. She is portrayed by Jane Lynch.
Character Biography[]
There Might Be Blood[]
In "There Might Be Blood", when Chief Vick gets an anonymous tip that there had been some problems on an oil rig, and later a man died on the rig, so she takes Shawn and Gus with her to investigate. However, she's rudely stopped by Barbara, with whom she aggressively argues over jurisdiction with, with Barbara ending up winning. Barbara does hire Shawn and Gus, but only to leave them behind to spite her sister. Shawn and Gus however get a ride with the rig's owner, and figures out that the guy who was murdered was the tipster. Barbara then kicks them off the rig.
After Shawn and Gus do more investigating, they call Barbara and Karen together and show them the dead body they find. They both leave with this new information, trying to catch the killer. When they get there, Shawn and Gus bump into the owner's daughter, who locks them in a closet. They're saved by Lassiter, and once they're freed they give chase. The two sisters, Lassiter and Juliet shoot at her, however Shawn goes up and convinces her to give him the gun, before Lassiter tackles and arrests her.
At the end, Dunlap asks (or rather demands) Lassiter take her to lunch, and he happily obliges.
In "Six Feet Under the Sea" Chief Vick mentions the possibility of contacting her sister for assistance when Shawn and Gus text O'Hara from the smuggler's boat.
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