Two Most Wanted Captured

Two of ‘Texas’ Ten Most Wanted Captured

AUSTIN – Two of Texas’ “Ten Most Wanted,” one sex offender and one fugitive, were recently captured. They were Melvin Carl Schrader, 49, a wanted sex offender, who was arrested on Aug. 19 in Waco. Also, Cesar Rene Ortiz, 45, a wanted fugitive, was arrested on Aug. 13 in Edinburg. The arrests were not the result of Crime Stoppers tips, so no rewards will be paid.

Working off investigative information, Special Agents from the Texas Department of Public ‘Safety’s (DPS) Criminal Investigations Division located and arrested Schrader at an apartment complex in Waco.

Schrader had been wanted since April 2018 for failure to comply with sex offender registration requirements after fleeing from his last known address in Bellmead, near Waco. His criminal history includes a conviction of indecency with a child-sexual contact after an incident with a three-year-old girl in McLennan County. For more information, view his captured bulletin.

Ortiz was captured by DPS Special Agents who were working off investigative information. He is affiliated with the Texas Chicano Brotherhood gang and was found at a house in Edinburg. The Texas Highway Patrol and Edinburg Police Department provided assistance in his arrest.

Ortiz had been wanted by law enforcement since March for violating his parole after fleeing from his last known address in Edinburg. Ortiz is a violent offender with a history of aggravated assault, burglary, drug, and weapon charges. For more information, view his captured bulletin.

So far in 2019, DPS and other agencies have arrested 18 Texas Most Wanted Fugitives and Sex Offenders, including nine sex offenders and seven gang members. In all, $25,000 in rewards have been paid for tips that have yielded arrests.

Texas Crime Stoppers is funded by the ‘Governor’s Criminal Justice Division. It offers cash rewards to any person who provides information that leads to the arrest of one of the Texas Ten Most Wanted fugitives or sex offenders.

To be eligible for the cash rewards, tipsters MUST provide information to authorities using one of the three following 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 the photo.
• 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.

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 listings — with photos — on the DPS website.

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