Top 10 Most Wanted Sex Offender Arrested In North Texas

COPPELL (CBSDFW.COM) - One of the states 10 Most Wanted Sex offenders has been captured in North Texas.

A tip led the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) and Coppell police to 58-year-old Thomas Lee Elkins.

Someone in Arizona notified authorities that Elkins might be a passenger in a truck traveling in Dallas County. The vehicle was located and stopped in Coppell last Friday morning and Elkins was taken into custody.

Elkins, whose criminal history includes Aggravated Sexual Assault, Aggravated Kidnapping, Forcible Rape and Indecent Liberties with Child, was put on the Top 10 list earlier this month after removing his electronic monitoring device and leaving a Houston halfway house on October 5.

Officials say the person who provided the tip that led to the arrest will be paid a $5,000 reward.

Anyone with information about any of Texas' 10 Most Wanted fugitives or sex offenders is asked to contact authorities. There are four different ways to provide anonymous tips:

• Call the Crime Stoppers hotline at (800) 252-TIPS (8477)
• Text the letters DPS and then 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 the link under the picture
• Tips can also be submitted on Facebook, just click the "SUBMIT A TIP" link underneath the "About" section