Murder suspect Luis Frias to feature on "In Pursuit with John Walsh"

Blackwell, Oklahoma will be featured on national television tonight, January 16, when Investigation Discovery (The ID Network) launches its newest series, “In Pursuit with John Walsh.” The first segment of the 45-minute long program will discuss the murder of Janett Reyna and the hunt for the suspect, Luis Frias.

Blackwell Chief of Police Dewayne Wood said he hopes the widespread exposure will finally lead to Frias' arrest and, hopefully, his day in court.

“Zero Point Zero productions, the company doing the series for ID, approached me in July. They had been researching crime stories for John Walsh's new program, and they got in touch with the U.S. Marshals. The Marshals had directed them to us, as Frias was about to go on the Top 15 Most Wanted list,” Wood said. “They spent three days in Oklahoma conducting interviews with various witnesses and relatives [of those involved] in Ponca City, Blackwell, and Oklahoma City.”

Frias made headlines in late 2018 after being added to the U.S. Marshal's Top 15 Most Wanted list in connection with the 2013 murder of Reyna, a former Blackwell police officer and a mother of three. At the time of her death, Reyna was working as the domestic violence prevention coordinator for the Ponca Tribal Police Department.

“The way I see it is that, when a new TV show premiers, the producers want their best content forward, and that series is launching with Blackwell, Oklahoma and Luis Frias,” Wood said. “I'm incredibly grateful to John Walsh, Zero Point Zero Productions, and the ID Network for putting our story forward on a national level. It is our hope that people will call in with information that can lead to Frias finally being caught and having his day in court for something that scarred our community so deeply.”

“I would love to have him arrested and go to trial, and I want nothing more than justice to be served. Obviously, there will be hotlines for people to call in after the program with any tips or information they can provide that would lead to locating Frias. In the age of video and content sharing sites like YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter, this information can be presented to a global audience,” said Wood.

Walsh rose to fame as the host of “America's Most Wanted,” which was responsible for helping apprehend more than 1,200 fugitives and locate over 50 missing children when it aired on the Fox and Lifetime networks from 1988 until 2012. Production company Zero Point Zero has been responsible for several other docu-series, including “My Next Guest Needs No Introduction,” “Elvis Goes There,” and “Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown.”

“It was surreal having the TV production company here,” Wood said. “I had done interviews for news channels in the past, but the production company spent almost 45 minutes in my office just setting up backlights and setting the scene for me. They got here at around 3 p.m., and I don't think I got home until 6.”

“In Pursuit With John Walsh” airs on Investigation Discovery tonight, January 16, at 9 p.m. Investigation Discovery is channel 192 on Dish Network and channel 285 on DirectTV.