Fort Worth sex offender added to most-wanted list after failure to register, DPS says

A man who once lived in Fort Worth and is wanted because authorities allege he failed to comply with sex offender registration requirements has been added to the Texas 10 Most Wanted Sex Offender list.

Albert Merell Jr., 42, has been wanted since April 2017, when he absconded from his last known address in Fort Worth, the Texas Department of Public Safety said Friday.

Merell has ties to Corpus Christi, Fort Bend County and southern Tarrant County, including Rendon. He was convicted in 2001 of aggravated sexual assault and aggravated kidnapping in Nueces County. The victim in that case was a 25-year-old woman, DPS said. He received a 15-year prison sentence.

Merell is 6-foot-2 and weighs about 200 pounds. He has a tattoo under his right eye and scars on his right shoulder, left wrist, right forearm and upper right arm.

Texas Crime Stoppers offers cash rewards to people who provide information that leads to the arrest of one of the Texas 10 Most Wanted fugitives or sex offenders.

To be eligible for the cash reward of up to $3,000 offered for Merell’s arrest, a person must provide information either by calling a hotline at 1-800-252-8477, submitting an online tip through the DPS website or via Facebook.

All tips are anonymous, DPS said.