Dateline: Before the Storm – 5 harrowing details about Crystal McDowell’s disappearance and murder, explored

Late August of 2017 saw Hurricane Harvey gearing up to hit Texas, while a crisis was unfolding in secret in Baytown. Crystal McDowell, a two-time mother and 37-year-old real estate agent, had gone missing mere hours before Harvey's arrival. Her disappearance caught national attention, ultimately resulting in a murder case. The case was later featured in Dateline: Before the Storm, which covered the biggest events and milestones of the countdown and aftermath of her killing.

Dateline "Before the Storm" delved into the intricate timeline of the disappearance of Crystal, featuring prominent evidence and interviews with those present during the investigation. Dateline detailed how the hurricane mayhem initially hindered the search for Crystal, and the extent to which investigators battled such obstacles to discover what was done to her.

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The following are five chilling facts regarding the case, as revealed in Dateline: Before the Storm.

1. Crystal McDowell disappeared just before Hurricane Harvey

Crystal left her boyfriend Paul Hargrave's home in the pre-dawn hours of August 25, 2017, to pick up her children from her ex-husband Steven McDowell. She never returned home. Her most recent known whereabouts were on surveillance cameras leaving Paul's home.

Due to Hurricane Harvey, early search parties were hindered by widespread flooding. Despite the storm, her family kept searching and attempting to publicize her disappearance.

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2. She abandoned her car a few days later

A few days afterward, Crystal's black Mercedes-Benz vehicle was discovered in a Motel 6 parking lot in Baytown. The vehicle was not water-damaged and did not indicate any forced entry or fight.

As Dateline establishes, why the vehicle was parked there baffled the investigators since they believed it was intentionally parked there to divert the investigation or give the impression that Crystal had abandoned it.

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3. Her former husband was subsequently charged with her killing

Crystal's former husband and father of her children, Steven McDowell, was arrested on 9th September 2017. Chambers County Sheriff's Office said that Steven had admitted to strangling Crystal over an argument. He subsequently led officials to a wooded field in western Chambers County where he had buried her.

The admission followed weeks of interrogation and mounting suspicion following inconsistencies in his previous testimonies. Dateline revealed revelations by law enforcement organs on the sourcing of the admission.

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4. Digital evidence was central to the investigation

Police used surveillance footage and phone calls to trace Crystal's last known activity. Dateline explains how such electronic occurrences were crucial in shortening the list of suspects. The reason that her phone activity stopped shortly after she had broken up with her boyfriend, and her phone location was opposite to the previous testimony offered by Steven McDowell, gave clues to the police authorities.

Police officials documented how technology and data analysis played a fundamental role in the solution of the case.

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5. Relatives were proactive even in the case of the hurricane

Crystal's relatives, particularly her uncle Jeff Walters, continued to be active in searching for her even when the region was still coping with the effects of Hurricane Harvey. Walters used social media as a publicity vehicle and teamed up with the police.

The aggression of the relatives made sure that the case did not fade from public view, and they ensured that the investigation would not be halted despite the hurricane.

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Dateline spoke with the family members who discussed their experience and psychological journey throughout the investigation. The case of Crystal McDowell reveals the type of complexity that results when natural disaster and individual tragedy converge. As told on Dateline: Before the Storm, her disappearance and murder raised questions about domestic violence, computer forensics analysis, and how environmental issues enter into criminal investigations.

The crime is forever remembered as a humbling reminder of how lives are forever changed in one moment, through human action and forces that cannot be controlled.

Also read: Dateline: Before the Storm— Who was Crystal McDowell and what happened to her? Details of the 2017 homicide, revealed