R. R. Branstrom | Daily Press Molly Barron Rebholz and Jim McNeil of Delta Force P.I. in Gladstone will be featured on tonight’s new 20/20 True Crime Event “Where Monsters Hide” for their key role in the capture of a serial killer. K9 Delta, an explosive detection dog, works for the security portion of the business.  Written by, R. R. BRANSTROM, June 16th, 2023

Delta Force P.I., LLC

Featured on 2020

ABC's 2020 Episode - Murder in Iron River, MI

GLADSTONE — Tonight, Friday, June 16, a local private investigation company will be featured on 20/20, a nationally televised true crime program on ABC, as it dives into an incredible series of events that began in the Upper Peninsula nine years ago. Delta Force, headquartered in Gladstone, was instrumental in the capture of Kelly Cochran of Iron River, who ws later convicted of murder. In 2014, Delta Force P.I., LLC, first became involved in a murder investigation when the Iron River Police Department had hit a dead end. They had a missing person and a cold trail, but Police Chief Laura Frizzo was left with a lingering sense that something was amiss with a particular pair of suspects. At the time, Delta Force had only recently been established. Jim McNeil, the founder, had retired from the Escanaba Department of Public Safety and recognized a need for a certain type of business that did not exist anywhere in the Upper Peninsula. To fill that void, Delta Force was created in 2014 to provide security services and private investigations. Shortly after the company’s formation, Molly Barron Rebholz, whose background is social work in community mental health, came aboard. Those contributing perspectives and skillsets — law enforcement, social work, psychology — were instrumental in building the groundwork for a well-rounded and ultimately successful P.I. business that now has 88 employees. When Chief Frizzo from Iron River reached out to the private investigators, she had heard that one of Jim’s specialties was truth verification and requested that Delta Force analyze the written statements of Jason Cochran and Kelly Cochran, who had been persons of interest in the search for a missing person, 53-year-old Christopher Regan. Kelly had been having an affair with Regan, which is what brought first her to the attention of police. While law enforcement did not have evidence implicating the Cochrans, Chief Rizzo’s instinct told her that they were involved in Regan’s disappearance. A truth analysis revealed that the married couple’s statements were clearly deceptive, thereby indicating that further investigation was justified. Since Delta Force possessed resources and technology that police lacked, concerned citizens of the area banded together and raised funds to hire Delta Force to pursue the case further. Information and surveillance gathered by the investigators over the next few months showed the Cochrans fleeing the state after they were questioned at home and at Iron River Police Department. Interviews with neighbors uncovered strange and disturbing reports of unusual sounds and smells from the Cochran residence, hinting at what may have become of Christopher Regan. Searches by the police and Delta Force in conjunction with the FBI continued throughout 2015. In early 2016, Jason Cochran was found dead at the couple’s new home in Indiana. By the time police realized that he had been murdered, Kelly Cochran had become a fugitive. Not long after, she was tracked to Kentucky and arrested. Today, Kelly Cochran is behind bars for life, serving sentences for the murders of both men. The resolution was a victory for the nation and a source of pride for all involved. The combined efforts of local law enforcement, U.S. Marshals, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the agents of Delta Force had solved the case and captured a vicious killer. Today, the public and the media are still fascinated, for what would have ended in a cold case if not for the intuition of Police Chief Laura Frizzo unfolded with one update after another. In 2018, Investigation Discovery released a four-part documentary entitled “Dead North,” which is available to watch on Discovery+, Amazon Prime, and YouTube. Now the grisly case has been brought into the light again as the subject of the all-new 20/20 True Crime Event entitled “Where Monsters Hide” airs tonight on ABC at 9 p.m. EST.