Keith Mars

Keith Mars
Enrico Colantoni as Keith Mars
First appearance	"Pilot"
Last appearance	"The Bitch Is Back" (TV series) Veronica Mars (film)
Created by	Rob Thomas
Portrayed by	Enrico Colantoni
Information
Gender	Male
Occupation	Private Investigator/ Sheriff
Title	Sheriff
Spouse(s)	Lianne Mars
Significant other(s)	Alicia Fennel Rebecca James Harmony Chase
Children	Veronica Mars

"The Bitch Is Back" (TV series)

Keith Mars is a fictional character on UPN/The CW television series Veronica Mars, which debuted during the fall 2004 season on UPN. He is portrayed by Enrico Colantoni.

Keith is the father of Veronica Mars. They have a very close relationship, and he is very protective of her. Keith was formerly the sheriff of the fictional Balboa County and later operated as a private investigator.

After going after popular billionaire Jake Kane for the murder of Jake's daughter Lilly, an emergency recall election removed him from office. His credibility was hurt even more after Abel Koontz confessed to the crime. Shortly thereafter, his daughter, Veronica, became a social outcast for siding with her dad and his wife, Lianne, left them. However, he refused to leave town and instead became a private investigator under the name Mars Investigations. Veronica does most of her sleuthing through Keith's numerous contacts and resources.

At the end of "Like a Virgin," Abel Koontz implied that Veronica was the biological daughter of Jake Kane. Veronica had a chance to find out who her father was in the next episode, "Drinking the Kool-Aid," but she shredded the paternity test. In "Hot Dogs," Keith sent in his own paternity test, which proved that Veronica is his biological daughter.

Since Veronica's mother, Lianne, left the family, Keith has been in three romantic relationships: one with Veronica's guidance counselor, Rebecca James, one with Wallace Fennel's mother, Alicia Fennel, and another with a client, Harmony Chase. His relationship with Rebecca was short-lived, because Veronica was uncomfortable with her father's dating, as she felt he should be looking for Lianne. He dated Alicia for several months, but they broke up in "Blast from the Past," after he confronted her about her lying to Wallace about his biological father, and, in the ensuing argument, Alicia questioned Keith's parenting skills. Keith began an affair with Harmony Chase after she hired him to find out whether her husband was cheating on her. Though Keith had strong feelings for Harmony, Veronica convinced Keith that it was a huge moral failing to be involved with a married woman, and Keith ended the affair in "Of Vice and Men."