Texas 10 Most Wanted program hits record number of captures in 2021

Staff Reports

AUSTIN – The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) is pleased to announce that in 2021, it had the highest number of Most Wanted Offenders captured in a single year since the program’s inception in 1993. Last year DPS, in cooperation with state, federal, local and Mexican authorities,* captured a record 34 fugitives and sex offenders. This breaks the previous record of 32 captures that was set in 2013. Additionally, $71,500 in rewards was paid in anonymous tips that resulted in arrests.

The 34 people captured in 2021 includes 12 gang members and 17 convicted sex offenders. 14 people were captured within just two months, from Oct. 13 through Dec. 13.

“The public plays an integral role in the captures of these offenders, ensuring we have a successful Texas 10 Most Wanted Program and making our communities, and all of us, safer,” said DPS Director Steven McCraw. “I’m proud of this program and would like to thank all of our law enforcement partners who helped successfully bring these criminals to justice.”

DPS investigators work with local law enforcement agencies to select fugitives for the Texas 10 Most Wanted Fugitives and Sex Offenders lists who pose the most significant threat to public safety in the state. You can find the current lists — with photos — on the DPS website.

Texas Crime Stoppers, which is funded by the Governor’s Criminal Justice Division, offers rewards to any person who provides information that leads to the arrest of one of Texas’ 10 Most Wanted Fugitives or Sex Offenders.

For more information on the fugitives captured in 2021 as part of the Texas 10 Most Wanted program, visit the captured fugitive archive.

Crime Stoppers programs enable citizens to anonymously report information about crimes for cash rewards, helping put criminals behind bars and assist in crime reduction efforts.

To be eligible for cash rewards, tipsters MUST provide information to authorities using one of the following three methods:

• Call the Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-252-TIPS (8477).
• Submit a web tip through the DPS website by selecting the fugitive you have information about then clicking on the link under their picture.
• Submit a Facebook tip by clicking the “SUBMIT A TIP” link (under the “About” section).

All tips are anonymous — regardless of how they are submitted — and tipsters will be provided a tip number instead of using a name.

*The partnership agencies involved in the 34 captures in 2021 included the DPS Criminal Investigations Division, Texas Highway Patrol, Texas Rangers, Amarillo Police Department, Aransas Pass Police Department, Austin Police Department, Bexar County Sheriff’s Office, Brazos County Sheriff’s Office, Corpus Christi Police Department, Dallas Police Department, Dilley Police Department, Fort Worth Police Department, Frio County Sheriff’s Office, Gilmer Police Department, Harris County Sheriff’s Office, Holliday Police Department, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Longview Police Department, Magnolia Police Department, Mexican authorities, Midland County Sheriff’s Office, Navy Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), Odessa Police Department, Smith County Sheriff’s Office, Snyder Police Department, South Bend (Indiana) Police Department, Stephenville Police Department, Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office, Texarkana Police Department, Texas Attorney General’s Office, Texas Department of Criminal Justice-Office of the Inspector General (TDCJ-OIG), Texas Governor’s Office, Tyler Police Department, Upshur County Sheriff’s Office, U.S. Border Patrol, U.S. Marshals (including the Eastern Arkansas Fugitive Task Force, Gulf Coast Violent Offenders Fugitive Task Force, Lone Star Fugitive Task Force, North Texas Fugitive Task Force, Joint East Texas Fugitive Task Force and the Mexico Foreign Field Office) and the Wichita Falls Police Department.