The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) has added James Lee Kirby to the Texas 10 Most Wanted Fugitives List. Texas Crime Stoppers is now offering a cash reward of up to $7,500 for information leading to his arrest. All tips are guaranteed to be anonymous.
James Lee Kirby, 49, from Sherman, has been wanted out of Bryan Co., Okla., since Feb. 2, 2026, for failure to appear, resulting from prior charges of first-degree rape and incest. On June 2, 2026, another warrant was issued out of Grayson Co., Texas, for his arrest for one count of aggravated sexual assault and two counts of sexual assault.
On Nov. 5, 2024, Kirby was arrested in Grayson Co. for aggravated sexual assault. Several weeks later, he posted bond and was released from jail. In early 2026, while Kirby was on pre-trial release for the first-degree rape and incest charges out of Oklahoma, his GPS monitoring device stopped operating right before the trial date, and he has been missing ever since.
Kirby is 6 feet 4 inches tall and weighs between 250 and 300 pounds. He has ties to both Sherman, Texas and Cartwright, Okla. Kirby has a tattoo of an animal skull with the words “SIZE MATTERS” on his upper right arm, a tattoo of an animal in scope crosshairs on his upper left arm, along with other tattoos on his lower right arm, lower left arm, right hand/thumb and lower left leg. Kirby is reported to be an avid hunter with access to firearms. More information about Kirby or updates in the event of his arrest can be found here.
Funded by the Governor’s Public Safety Office, Texas Crime Stoppers offers cash rewards to any person who provides information that leads to the arrest of one of Texas’ 10 Most Wanted Fugitives, Sex Offenders or Criminal Illegal Immigrants. So far in 2026, DPS and other agencies have arrested 45 Texas 10 Most Wanted Fugitives, Sex Offenders and Criminal Illegal Immigrants, including 33 sex offenders and eight gang members – with $61,500 in rewards being paid for tips that yielded arrests.
To be eligible for cash rewards, tipsters MUST provide information to authorities using one of the following three 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 their picture.
- 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 Fugitives, Sex Offenders and Criminal Illegal Immigrants Lists. You can find the current lists — with photos — on the DPS website.
Photos of Kirby’s tattoos:
Article source and photo credit: Texas Department of Public Safety
