Crystal mcdow's life was full of turmoil and adversary from the beginning born to parents who had named her after the drug crystal meth she faced a challenging childhood her parents who died within 6 months of each other when Crystal was just 11 years old succumbed to complications from AIDS which they contracted through substance abuse this tragic loss left Crystal orphan and left to fend for herself in her teenage years Crystal faced even more hardships she was abducted by a man and held captive in a chicken cpop where she was sexually assaulted for several days however a crystal displayed Incredible strength and resilience escaping and evading her captor eventually Crystal made her way to Baytown Texas where she found Refuge with her aunt and uncle despite enduring the abuse she suffered as a child Crystal was determined to make a better life for herself she worked tirelessly to overcome her struggles and break free from the shackles of her past it was in Baytown that Crystal met Steve McDowell Steve known for his playful nature and love for video games and fast cars was everything Crystal longed for his sweet kind and funny demeanor won her over instantly Crystal's friends couldn't help but notice how happy she seemed to be with Steve they thought Crystal and Steve made a perfect couple Crystal worked as a flight attendant with Express Jet which allowed her and Steve to take frequent trips all over the USA enjoying the benefits of her Airline perks after they married Crystal and Steve had two children Madden and Maui it was evident that Crystal loved them deeply she was a dedicated mother who prioritized her children's happiness and well-being from the outside it appeared that Crystal and Steve and their children were the perfect family however hidden beneath the surface Crystal was growing increasingly dissatisfied with her marriage after 10 years of marriage she decided to end her relationship with Steve this decision was met with resistance from her husband who did not like the idea of a divorce while Crystal waited for the keys to her new home which was being remodeled she continued to live with Steve and their children it was a challenging situation for all of them as they navigated the emotions of a pending divorce despite the difficulties Crystal remained determined to create a better future for herself and her children by 2017 Crystal had turned 37 years old she had made significant changes in her life pursuing a career in real estate this time marked a new chapter for Crystal as she was looking forward forward to New Beginnings in her new home on August 25th 2017 Crystal had plans to meet up with her family to watch the highly anticipated Mayweather and McGregor fight excitement was in the air as friends and family gathered to watch the highly anticipated match however Crystal never showed up initially no one seemed to worry too much about Crystal's absence they knew that she was busy juggling her responsibilities as a working mother perhaps she was just running late or had encountered some unexpected circumstances however as the night went on and Crystal failed to reply to texts and calls concern started to grow after waiting more than 24 hours without hearing from Crystal her family made a heartbreaking decision they contacted the Chambers County Sheriff's Department to reports her missing a deputy was immediately dispatched to Crystal's home where he questioned her ex-husband Steve upon his arrival the deputy questioned Steve about Crystal's whereabouts Steve who had recently been divorced from Crystal informed the detectives that Crystal had begun a new relationship after their separation he said that there were nights when Crystal would disappear without informing him of her wearabouts as he spoke to Steve something in his tone caught the detective's attention the deputy with his Keen intuition had suspicions about Steve with mounting concern the deputy decided to call for backup a seasoned detective arrived at the scene and joined the deputy upon speaking with Steve the detective noticed his wedding band still on his finger this odd detail pequ his interest as Crystal and Steve had been divorced for 6 months although Steve was cooperative the detective noticed something off about his demeanor given the unusual circumstances surrounding Crystal's disappearance the detective involved the district attorney the district attorney having read the reports immediately suspected foul play with mounting evidence pointing towards a possible homicide she ordered further investigation one fact that caught the District Attorney's attention was that Crystal and Steve were divorced yet still living together furthermore Crystal had a new boyfriend the DA's first thought was that Steve had something to hide despite the initial speculation the detective on this case had a different option while it was possible that Steve could have played a role in Crystal's disappearance the detective believed there were other factors to consider the detective believed that Crystal's boyfriend could provide valuable insight into her disappearance Crystal's disappearance puzzled the detectives as they sought to uncover the truth behind her disappearance they learned that the man she had gone out with on August 24th 2017 was Paul Hargrave a local man who managed a jewelry store that had been a fixture in the neighborhood for over 50 years according to Paul he and Crystal had gone out together that night and upon her return she went back to his house with him the following morning while Paul was in the shower Crystal left his home Paul provided security camera footage of Crystal leaving his residence on August 25 at 7:35 a. m. the video showed Crystal getting into her black Mercedes Coupe and driving away from Paul's driveway Steve McDow and Paul Hargrave were immediately considered suspects in Crystal's disappearance however the detectives realized that other potential Persons of Interest still needed to be investigated further as the detectives delved into the case they uncovered some intriguing details about Christ's they discovered some intriguing details about Crystal's marriage it was discovered that throughout her marriage Crystal had engaged in multiple extramarital affairs with flight attendants and Pilots both male and female the discovery of these extramarital Affairs raised suspicions among the detectives they wondered if there was a possibility that an angry spouse had gone after Crystal seeking Revenge however there was no evidence that these Affairs had anything to do with her disappearance the investigation into Crystal's disappearance hit a dead end when hurricane Harvey made landfall in Baytown this massive storm caused widespread devastation with half the county submerged in flood waters The Heavy Rain continued for days making it difficult for the investigation to proceed crystals disappearance became overshadowed by the hurricane and its aftermath people lost their homes cars and even their lives in the storm's destruction the chamber County Sheriff's Department faced limited resources and was forced to redirect all Personnel to assist in the hurricane search and rescue efforts with the attention of the officers supposed to be working on Crystal's case diverted to the hurricane response her family was responsible for picking up the investigation friends and family members spent the days tirelessly sharing posts about Crystal's disappearance on various social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram they spread the word far and wide hoping to gather any leads or information that would lead to her whereabouts one of Crystal's cousins received a message from a friend the friend informed them that they had recently seen a Snapchat image depicting Crystal's vehicle parked in a Motel 6 parking lot near Interstate 10 intrigued by this claim Crystal's cousin immediately sought to verify the information upon seeing the Snapchat image they recognized the license plate and confirmed that it was indeed Crystal's car with the confirmation Crystal's cousin immediately informed her family and the police about the potential lead however due to severe flooding on the roads in chamber County reaching the sight of the motel proved challenging instead of traditional Vehicles they opted to use airboats to navigate through the flooded areas upon arriving at Motel 6 Crystal's Family and the police were met with the site that confirmed their worst fears her car was parked haphazardly in the parking L lot with the keys in the ignition it appeared that whoever left Crystal's car there did so with the intention of having it stolen the Mercedes was subsequently towed to the crime lab garage for processing but regrettably no evidence was found that could shed light on Crystal's whereabouts even dat line the popular News television investigation series dedicated segments to Crystal's disappearance but unfortunately these efforts did not yield any relevant information one week after Crystal's disappearance the detective realized he needed additional assistance in the aftermath of hurricane Harvey he reached out to the Texas Rangers who gladly provided their assistance the lead Texas Ranger assigned to the case conducted the first formal interview with Steve McDow Crystal's husband Steve stated that he had not seen Crystal since she had left for her date on August 24th from the very beginning Steve's body language appeared peculiar to the ranger despite Crystal's sudden disappearance Steve did not exhibit the palpable worry one would expect from someone in such a situation however Crystal's friends and family remained steadfast in their support of Steve Crystal's loved ones knew Steve personally and felt that he could not possibly be responsible for Crystal's disappearance they emphasized his loving nature as a father to Madden and Maui doubting that he would ever do anything to hurt their mother the ranger approached Steve and asked if he would be willing to take a lie detector test Steve agreed seemingly confident in his innocence however the results of the test were shocking Steve failed miserably raising even more questions about his involvement in Crystal's disappearance Paul Hargrave Crystal's boyfriend who was also considered a potential suspect also took a polygraph test just like Steve Paul failed the lie detector test with both Steve and Paul failing the lie detector tests the district attorney started to wonder if there was a possible joint effort to conceal the truth about Crystal's disappearance by this stage everyone involved was convinced that Foul Play was involved and that Crystal was deceased however there was one important question that remained unanswered where was her body if her remains had been disposed of in one of the bayus in Baytown there was a high likelihood that her body would have been transported to the Gulf of Mexico making it virtually impossible to discover in an effort to locate Crystal and bring closure to her family a search was organized that involved Texas EA search team and volunteers the search took place on September 9th with close to 100 people participating in the search efforts the Searchers adopted a grid-based approach dividing the area into sections and systematically covering each foot by ATV and airboat despite the extensive efforts put forth by everyone involved no sign of Crystal could be found as the search continued into the wetlands the Texas Rangers remained steadfast in their determination to find those responsible for Crystal's disappearance they worked tirelessly to piece together the events and piece together a potential motive behind Crystal disappearance the possibility arose that her ex-husband or her boyfriend could have been involved although no evidence was found to support this Theory the ranger recognizing the potential for CCTV footage had officers canvas the area around the motel where her car was discovered searching for homes and businesses equipped with security cameras fortunately several establishments had security cameras and the ranger was determined to uncover any footage that might help shed light on Crystal's disappearance after spending hours searching through countless hours of footage the ranger came across footage of a person parking Crystal's car in the motel parking lot on Saturday August 26th at 6:37 a.
m. the footage provided a clear image of the man but the ranger couldn't immediately identify the person as the ranger continued his analysis of the footage he noticed that the man in question got out of Crystal's Mercedes and walked away from the vehicle with the suspicion that this person could be Crystal's ex-husband Steve the ranger attention intensified in a separate video captured 5 hours later by a different security camera a blue car pulled into the pump at a gas station located next to Motel 6 and this blue car a rare Mustang GT matched the description of Steve mcdow's vehicle that Revelation strengthened the ranger belief that the person seen parking Crystal's car at Motel 6 could have been Steve himself Steve's actions at the gas station raised suspicion instead of filling his tank Steve walked towards the Motel 6 parking lot where he appeared to be looking at Crystal's car the Rangers spec ated that Steve may have returned to the parking lot earlier to check if anyone had stolen Crystal's car he had left the keys in the ignition expecting someone to eventually take advantage and steal the vehicle if Steve was responsible for her disappearance how did he return home the distance between the location where Steve parked Crystal's car and his home is significant and Steve would have been on foot making this an unlikely Journey so the ranger decided to take a closer look at the CCTV footage from surrounding businesses and homes to find any additional upon further investigation the ranger discovered footage of a man riding a bike in the rain along the interstate 10 service road at 7:05 a. m.
