Crystal Seratte McDowell, 37, a successful Texas realtor, vanished on August 25, a day prior to Hurricane Harvey making landfall in the Houston area. She was reported missing on August 26, and her car was found in a motel parking lot several days later. After her body was discovered in a wooded area in Chambers County on Saturday, her former husband, 44-year-old Steven McDowell, has been taken into custody and charged with her murder.

Realtor’s body found in wooded area near Baytown

The body of the Texas realtor was found on Saturday in a wooded area close to Baytown, where she had been scheduled to pick up her two children, aged five and eight, on August 25.

The children had been staying at her former husband’s home close to Baytown, in the Houston area. Chambers County Sheriff Brian Hawthorne did not release details of her cause of death.

As reported by People, the couple was divorced in June and Crystal had been staying with her boyfriend, Paul Hargrave. She had left Hargrave’s home earlier on August 25, less than 18 miles from her ex-husband’s home, but was never heard from again. Hargrave said at the time that Crystal had texted him to say the road conditions were good after she drove off at around 8:30 a.m.

However after not having been heard from again, the next day she was officially reported as missing by her uncle, just as Houston was flooded by Hurricane Harvey making landfall.

Mercedes car found in flood waters

Some days later her black Mercedes car was found, submerged in flood waters in a Motel 6 parking lot outside of Mont Belvieu, around 13 miles from her home.

At the time, her boyfriend said something was horribly wrong. He said she wouldn’t just leave her children. Hargrave did say the divorced couple was fighting in the time leading up to her disappearance. Hawthorne also agreed that she wouldn’t just leave, as McDowell had a successful business, many friends and family members and two beautiful children that he also didn’t believe she could walk away from.

Ex-husband had posted fliers for missing former wife

As authorities and family members searched for the missing realtor, her ex-husband had posted fliers and news clips about his missing ex-wife on his Facebook page. As reported by the New York Daily News, at the time she went missing, Hawthorne said he was confident that McDowell had not been one of the 60 casualties of Hurricane Harvey as it battered the Houston area.
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