DPS Offers Increased Reward Seeking Leads in 1994 Cold Case

AUSTIN, TX -- The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) is asking for the public’s help in solving the disappearance of Rena Rincones, and an increased reward of up to $6,000 is being offered for information that leads to the arrest of those responsible if the tip is received before November’s featured Texas Rangers cold case is announced. The reward is increased for the featured case in hopes that the higher reward money will generate additional tips. A $3,000 reward for information leading to an arrest is routinely offered on all cases on the Texas Rangers’ Unsolved Homicides website.

Rincones was reported missing to law enforcement in March 1995. According to her father, she was last seen leaving her parents’ residence in Falfurrias, Brooks County, on June 21, 1994, and she was never heard from again. It is believed that she was going to a residence in the Premont area in neighboring Jim Wells County. At the time of her disappearance, Rincones was married and had a one-year-old daughter. Law enforcement presumes that she is deceased, and her body has not been recovered. Rincones remains missing, and the case remains unsolved despite the efforts of law enforcement authorities.

To be eligible for the cash rewards, tipsters must provide information to authorities by calling the Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-252-TIPS (8477). All tips are anonymous.

Individuals can also submit information through the Texas Ranger cold case website or by contacting 1-800-346-3243 (DPS Missing Persons Hotline).

The DPS Texas Rangers’ Unsolved Homicides website provides information on more than 75 cases in an effort to help garner public interest in unsolved or cold cases. Texas Crime Stoppers offers rewards funded by the Governor’s Criminal Justice Division and administered by DPS of up to $3,000 for information that leads to the arrest of those responsible for any Rangers cold case listed on the website.

As part of a DPS public awareness program, one case from the Texas Ranger Unsolved Crimes Investigation (Cold Case) Program is featured each month in an effort to generate new investigative leads and bring attention to these cold cases.

The Texas Ranger Unsolved Crimes Investigation Program was created to assist Texas law enforcement agencies investigating unsolved murders or violent serial crimes. Since there is no statute of limitations for the offense of murder, investigators pursue these cases to a successful resolution or until no viable leads remain.