I got a bonded title for my 52' in Mississippi. After tracking the title to the last dead son of the old owner I found the family just died out. I wouldn't worry to much in your case about the owner showing up. They probably couldn't pick it out of a line-up by now. The bond was $125 in MS. I spent weeks of wasted time bouncing back and forth with MDOT and then went with the bonded title. The trip to the insurance comepany and back to apply for the title at MDOT took about 2 hours total. It looks like TX may be a few more hoops than here but my advise is bond it and move on.
