Reward Increased to $8,000 for Most Wanted Sex Offender

AUSTIN – The reward for Manuel Muniz, 47, a Texas 10 Most Wanted Sex Offender and this month’s featured fugitive, has been increased to $8,000 for information leading to his capture if the tip comes in during October. Muniz is wanted for failure to comply with sex offender registration requirements and parole violation. All tips are guaranteed to be anonymous.

Authorities have wanted Muniz since February 2017. He has ties to Bosque County, including the communities of Morgan (his last known address), Walnut Springs and Meridian. He also has ties to Del Rio and Ciudad Acuna, Mexico. In 2007, Muniz was convicted of aggravated sexual assault of a 13-year-old girl in Bosque County, and sentenced to 15 years in prison. The state paroled him in November 2016. His criminal history also includes assault, burglary and obstruction/retaliation.

Muniz is 5 feet 11 inches tall and weighs approximately 235 pounds. He has tattoos of Vietnamese symbols on his right forearm, and other tattoos on his upper arms, abdomen, left thigh and finger; and scars on his right eyebrow and forehead. Muniz also has worked construction in the past. For more information or updates in the event of his arrest, see his wanted bulletin at:
http://www.dps.texas.gov/Texas10MostWanted/MostWanted/SexOffenderDetails?id=376.

One offender from the Texas 10 Most Wanted Program is featured each month in hopes the higher reward money from the Governor’s Criminal Justice Division will generate additional tips. The DPS pays the top amount if the tip comes in the same month the DPS features the fugitive. So far in 2017, Texas Crime Stoppers has paid $51,000 in total rewards for anonymous tips that resulted in arrests.

To be eligible for the cash rewards, tipsters MUST provide information to authorities using one of the five following methods:
Call the Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-252-TIPS (8477).
Text the letters “DPS” – followed by your tip – to 274637 (CRIMES) from your cell phone.
Submit a web tip through the DPS website by selecting the fugitive you have information about, and then clicking on the link under their picture.
Submit a Facebook tip at http://www.facebook.com/texas10mostwanted by clicking the “SUBMIT A TIP” link (under the “About” section).
Submit a tip through the DPS Mobile App. The app is currently available for iPhone users on the Apple App Store: (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/texas-dps/id902092368?mt=8) and Android users on Google Play: (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.microassist.texasdps&hl=en).

All tips are anonymous – regardless of how they are submitted, and DPS provides tipsters a tip number instead of using a name.

DPS investigators work with local law enforcement agencies to select fugitives for the Texas 10 Most Wanted Fugitive and Sex Offender lists. You can find the current lists – with photos – on the DPS website at http://www.dps.texas.gov/texas10mostwanted/.

Do not attempt to apprehend these fugitives; they are considered armed and dangerous.