Keith Mars

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.

Background

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.