You’re driving through the dusty, heat-shimmered roads of Grapeseed when you see her. Maude Eccles. She’s sitting on her porch, surrounded by wind chimes and a weirdly domestic vibe for a woman who spends her days hunting down the scum of Los Santos. Most players just blow past her little shack without a second thought, but honestly? You’re leaving money on the table if you do. Maude missions GTA V are essentially the game's way of giving you a low-stress introduction to bounty hunting, and if you're playing as Trevor, they’re practically mandatory for that authentic "desert psychopath" experience.
Maude is great. She’s polite, she’s maternal, and she wants you to kidnap people for her. It’s a side hustle that feels very different from the high-octane heists or the constant chaos of the main story. It's slower. Methodical.
Why Maude Eccles is the Most Underrated Contact
Maude represents a specific era of Rockstar's world-building where side characters actually felt like part of the ecosystem rather than just quest markers. She calls herself a "justice seeker," though let's be real: she's a bounty hunter who really likes her porch. The mechanics are simple. She sends you an email with a grainy photo and a general location. You go there, find the target, and decide whether they're going to see another sunrise.
The payout for a dead target is $5,000. If you bring them back alive and breathing, you get $10,000. It doesn't take a math genius to see why you should keep your itchy trigger finger in check.
The Art of the Non-Lethal Takedown
Getting someone into the back of your car without killing them is actually trickier than it looks in a game where everyone dies if you sneeze on them. Most players make the mistake of using heavy weaponry. Don't. If you shoot a target in the leg with a sniper rifle, they’re probably going to bleed out before you can get them to Maude's place.
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The Stun Gun is your absolute best friend here. It’s clean, it’s effective, and it keeps the paperwork light. If you don't have the Stun Gun yet, a good old-fashioned punch to the face usually does the trick. Or, if they're running away, you can shoot out the tires of their getaway vehicle. Just don't blow up the car. Fire is generally bad for bounty values.
Finding the Four Fugitives
Rockstar didn't make these particularly hard to find, but the game doesn't exactly hold your hand with GPS markers until you're right on top of them. You have to actually look at the pictures Maude sends you.
Ralph Ostrowski is the first one on the list. He's hanging out at the bottom of the Davis Quartz quarry. It’s a massive hole in the ground; you can’t miss it. He’s usually just standing by some equipment. Pro tip: if you approach from the top and snipe his tires, he won’t be able to lead you on a tedious chase through the dirt paths.
Next up is Larry Tupper. He’s hiding out at a deserted farm south of the Grand Senora Desert. This one is a bit of a pain because he’s got friends. If you roll in hot, his buddies will start shooting, and in the crossfire, Larry might end up as a corpse. Try to take out his guards from a distance or use a fast car to run up and tase him before he can react.
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Glenn Scoville is the one most people remember because he’s a literal thrill-seeker. You’ll find him at the very top of Mount Chiliad, getting ready to BASE jump. This is one of the few missions where you actually need to be fast. If he jumps, you have to jump after him. Make sure you have a parachute, or the "mission" ends with Trevor becoming a pancake on the side of a mountain.
Finally, there’s Curtis Weaver. He’s holed up in a homeless camp (Dignity Village) near the Paleto Bay tunnel. He’s cranky and he will shoot at you. Just like the others, a quick tase or a whack with a nightstick ends the fight instantly.
The Problem With Modern Payouts
Let’s be honest for a second. In 2026, $40,000 (the total for all four alive) feels like pocket change compared to what you can make in GTA Online. But for the single-player campaign, especially early on when Trevor is basically broke, it's a solid chunk of change. It buys a lot of ammo and some decent car upgrades.
The real value of Maude missions GTA V isn't the money, though. It’s the atmosphere. It forces you to explore parts of the map—the quarries, the mountain peaks, the hidden camps—that you might otherwise ignore while chasing the big yellow mission markers. It’s the "Oregon Trail" version of a crime game. You're out in the wilderness, hunting.
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Does Maude Appear in GTA Online?
Yes, she does, but it’s a different beast entirely. In GTA Online, Maude will send you a text message if you’re a new player (or just haven’t done it yet). The setup is the same—find the bounty, bring them in—but the rewards are way better. Completing her bounties in Online eventually leads you to the Stone Hatchet.
That hatchet is one of the most broken weapons in the game. It triggers a "Rampage" mode similar to Trevor’s special ability, making you nearly invincible as long as you keep getting kills. If you're playing Online, Maude isn't just a side activity; she's the gatekeeper to one of the best melee weapons in the entire series.
A Strange Sense of Finality
One thing that always bothered me is that Maude just... stops. Once you finish those four bounties in single-player, she tells you she’s retiring to find a husband or something along those lines. That’s it. No more emails. No more hunts. It feels like a missed opportunity for a procedurally generated system, but then again, GTA V was a product of its time.
If you’re looking to maximize your experience, don't rush these. Do one, then go do a story mission. Let the emails come in naturally. It makes the world feel bigger, more lived-in.
Expert Tips for Clean Captures
- The Intimidation Factor: Sometimes, just aiming a gun at a fugitive makes them surrender. You don't always have to pull the trigger.
- Vehicle Choice: Take a four-door car or a truck with a decent bed. It’s easier to manage the logistics of a capture when you aren't trying to stuff a bounty into a two-seater supercar that handles like soap on a wet floor.
- The Map is Your Friend: If you’re struggling to find the exact spot from the photo, look for landmarks like radio towers or specific rock formations. Rockstar’s environment artists put a lot of work into making those photos recognizable if you pay attention.
The Maude missions are a relic of a slightly simpler GTA, one focused on character and quirk rather than just the "grind." They’re a reminder that Trevor Philips, for all his terrifying instability, can actually hold down a job if there's a maternal figure involved.
To get the most out of your run, make sure you have the Stun Gun unlocked via the "Slightly Turbulent" mission or by purchasing it at Ammu-Nation if you’re far enough in the story. Head up to Grapeseed, look for the "B?" icon on your map after the "Mr. Philips" mission, and start your career as the desert’s most unlikely bounty hunter. Even if you don't need the cash, the dialogue alone is worth the trip to the trailer park.