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McAllen police are asking for the public’s help in locating the man alleged to have shot and killed Rio Grande Valley businessman Eddy Betancourt over the weekend.

At first, police expected the suspect, Reynaldo Mata-Rios, 60, of Pharr, to turn himself in. He had offered to do so, they say. Evidently, he changed his mind and is now at large.

RELATED: Murder warrant issued in shooting death of South Texas businessman

Here is how events unfolded, according to police.

Betancourt, 61, a construction company owner and a member of the board of directors of the Hidalgo County Appraisal District, was fatally shot on Saturday afternoon in McAllen.

On Sunday, investigators sought a warrant for Mata-Rios’ arrest on a charge of murder. A McAllen Municipal Court judge issued the warrant at 2 p.m. that day. However, the department refrained from announcing that it had identified a suspect in the slaying. A news release issued Sunday said police were treating the death as a homicide and added, “This investigation remains ongoing.”

On Monday, police went public with the arrest warrant and released Mata-Rios’ name, age and physical description, along with what appears to be a driver’s license photo of him from the Texas Department of Public Safety.

 “The suspect indicated his intent to surrender to the McAllen Police Department for this charge but he has not done so to date,” police said in a statement Monday.

“McAllen police officers are asking the public for assistance in locating” Mata-Rios, the statement said.

On Tuesday, police said they had no information to provide regarding his possible whereabouts.

Investigators urged anyone with information to call 956-681-2000. Tips can be reported anonymously to McAllen Crime Stoppers at 956-687-8477 or through the smart phone app P3 Tips.

Betancourt, 61, who lived in Mission, was active in politics and served on the Texas Facilities Commission, which oversees state buildings and property, as an appointee of Gov. Greg Abbott.

Police did not say what, if any, connection he had to Mata-Rios.

Betancourt was shot inside a business in the 800 block of North Ware Road in McAllen, police said. Police did not identify the business, but a company led by Betancourt, R&B General Construction, lists an address in the same block.

Officers responding to a 911 call at 3:41 p.m. Saturday found Betancourt at that location. He was unresponsive, had no pulse and “appeared to be injured by gunshot,” police said.

He was shot in the upper torso, ValleyCentral.com reported on Tuesday, citing a police incident report.

Betancourt earned a Bachelor of Business Administration, with an emphasis on marketing and international business, from the University of Texas Pan American (now UT Rio Grande Valley) in 1994.

In a resume posted on the website of the Hidalgo County Appraisal District, he described himself as a “results-driven construction and project manager with over 30 years of expertise.” He said he had worked on industrial, commercial, institutional and residential projects “while adhering to a tight schedule and budget.”

R&B General Construction was founded in 1984, has 60 employees and works on warehouses, industrial parks, and residential and commercial projects, the resume says.

In 2015, Betancourt purchased a business called National Tire and Wheel, and he was also a manager and partner in E2H Investments, described as a “rent to own” business.

Previously, he was a vice president of Century Forwarding Agency Inc., an import-export business in the city of Hidalgo that handled logistics for Walmart and other Fortune 500 companies, according to the resume.

Betancourt was also a licensed real estate agent and a member of the Greater McAllen Association of Realtors and the National Association of Realtors.

Abbott appointed him to the Texas Facilities Commission in 2020 and reappointed him in 2023, state records show.