A Texas realtor mom who vanished the day before Hurricane Harvey is still missing in mysterious and worrying circumstances.
Crystal McDowell, 38, was last heard from on August 25 when she left her boyfriend’s home to go to collect her children from her ex-husband home in Houston.
She never showed up and later missed several business appointments, prompting her uncle to report her missing on August 26.
Four days after vanishing, the woman’s Mercedez was found submerged in flood water in the parking lot of a Motel 6. It was recognized by someone who had seen her family’s frantic social media appeals to find her.
Now, almost two weeks after she first disappeared, authorities fear she is the victim of foul play.
Crystal McDowell, 37, is still missing two weeks after going missing from Houston on August 25, a day before Hurricane Harvey hit
Chambers County Sheriff’s Office beefed up its search effort on Wednesday by enlisting a local equestrian unit to help them search an area near the Cedar Bayou river.
In the days before her disappearance, Crystal made teasing reference to a happy new life on social media.
‘I’ve never been happier in my whole life than I am right now. God is so good,’ she wrote.
When friends begged for more information, she replied: ‘Details soon.’
Crystal stayed overnight at her jeweler boyfriend Paul Hargrave’s home on Thursday, August 24.
On the 25th, she left his home in the morning and was seen on surveillance cameras in his home leaving in a purple dress and black coat, carrying a black bag.
As she drove to Steve’s house, she stopped during the journey to text her boyfriend a photograph of an advert featuring her real estate business.
Two days before she vanished, Crystal said cryptically that she was ‘happier’ than she had ever been and she told friends she would give them ‘details soon’
Crystal stayed at her boyfriend Paul Hargrave’s home on August 24 the night before she disappeared
She is seen leaving his house on surveillance cameras inside the home. Circled is the black bag she was carrying
A photograph from surveillance cameras on the day she vanished shows Crystal leaving the house with the bag on her arm, dressed in a purple outfit
After leaving her boyfriend’s home, she text him to say the roads were clear. She also sent a photograph of a billboard advert of her realtor business which he had installed at his jewelry store and thanked him. It was their last exchange
The advert was at his jewelry business. At 7.27am, she texted Paul a photograph of the billboard and told him: ‘You are so sweet’.
He replied: ‘I love you and I’ll always support you.’
Steve, her ex-husband, says she never showed up at his house to collect the children. He claims to have received a text message from her before she was due to arrive in which she described plans to take the children to Dallas to ride out the storm.
Her uncle Jeff Walters has cast doubt on the authenticity of that message.
‘We aren’t sure she sent those messages to him. She never told me of plans to go to Dallas for the storm,’ he told Dateline.
Sheriffs later found a black bag containing her business paperwork at Steve’s house.
It is not clear how long the pair have been separated or how long she has been dating Paul.
Crystal said she was on her way to her ex-husband Steve McDowell’s home to collect their children
After she failed to show up to collect their children, Steve revealed that he received a text message from her phone in which she claimed she was going to Dallas
On August 29, her car was found submerged in flood water at a Motel 6 in Houston but she was nowhere to be seen
Crystal’s uncle Jeff Walters said he does not believe she sent the text claiming she was going to Dallas and suggested it may have been written by someone else
When her uncle spoke to Dateline, he said Crystal was still living at her ex-husband’s house while works on her townhouse were ongoing.
Steve has not spoken publicly of his ex-wife’s disappearance. On Wednesday, Paul declined to comment while the search for his girlfriend intensified.
‘There’s a lot going on today,’ he told DailyMail.com in reference to the equestrian team’s sudden announcement that it had been called in to the search for her.
Crystal’s uncle Jeff did not respond to requests. He describes himself as a father-figure for the woman whose own parents died when she was 11.
Chamber County Sheriff’s Office, which is leading the search for her, did not respond to requests either.
Crystal’s boyfriend and uncle have pulled money together and are now offering a $15,000 reward to anyone who can help find her.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Chamber County Sheriff’s Office on 409-267-2500.
A $15,000 reward is now being offered to anyone with information on her whereabouts