Texas's "most wanted" has just expanded its rogue's gallery. The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) has put the spotlight on two more fugitives, raising the alarm and the bounty on their heads. Braylon Lee Smart and Christopher Michael Anderson have joined the infamous ranks of the Texas 10 Most Wanted Sex Offenders list, with Texas Crime Stoppers offering up to $3,000 for information leading to their capture. As the manhunt intensifies, the community's help is sought but caution is the watchword; these individuals are considered dangerous.
Wandering far from the light of the law, 27-year-old Braylon Lee Smart of Houston has eluded capture since February 2023, dodging arrest for a prior conviction. A string of warrants for his arrest, stemming from failures to register as a sex offender, were issued from Harris and Fort Bend counties in October 2023. But Smart's run from justice spans states—wanted in Orange County, Florida, for attempted homicide, and in Maricopa County, Arizona, for failing to appear. His 2020 convictions for sexual assault and battery on a law enforcement officer in Florida remain grim milemarkers on a troubled road. You can view more on Smart's case on the DPS website.
Not to be overshadowed, 46-year-old Christopher Michael Anderson's trail leads back to Odessa, and to acts that mark the most vulnerable among us. Since October 2023, he has been sought for failure to comply with sex offender registration requirements. But it is his past that chills—the 2003 convictions for aggravated sexual assault of two young girls and obstruction/retaliation. Though once contained within prison walls, released on parole in 2017, Anderson now taunts the edges of society, a ghost unmoored.
The rewards for these men's arrests come from the governor's coffers, but the currency of courage is just as vital. In 2023, 47 of Texas’ most wanted fell to the resolve of this partnership between law enforcement and those they serve—23 of which were sex offenders. The DPS lays out the way forward: anonymous tips, the silent whispers of justice, can be delivered through a call to Crime Stoppers, a click on their website, or a message via Facebook. Each method was cloaked in the assurance of anonymity, and each tipster was given a number instead of a name. This is the network's spine, and across these lines, the quest to bring the wayward to answer for their deeds continues.
As the hunt goes on, the DPS collaborates closely with local law enforcement to choose fugitives for the most wanted lists, which are regularly updated and replete with photos for identification. The public can track these lists, and should anyone spot Smart or Anderson, they're urged not to engage but to reach out to authorities. These men have histories that speak to potential violence, to a readiness to escape the grasp of those who pursue them. The warning stands: they are armed and dangerous. Delve into the current most wanted lists and join this collective effort at the DPS website.
