Ex-Husband Charged With Murder After Missing Baytown Realtor Is Found Dead

BAYTOWN, TX — A Baytown realtor who vanished just hours before Hurricane Harvey hit the Texas coast, has been found dead.

The body of Crystal McDowell, 37 was found in a wooded area of west Chambers County on Saturday, and her ex-husband, 44-year old Stephen Wayne McDowell is now charged with her murder.

He is in the Chambers County Jail and is being held without bond. (Want to get daily news updates and other events going on in your area? Sign up for the free Pasadena Patch morning newsletter.)

Crystal McDowell was last seen by her boyfriend on the evening of Aug. 25,when she left his home to travel to Mont Belvieu to pick up her children, investigators said.

She was reported missing the next day.

A week after she was reported missing, investigators found her submerged car in a parking lot of a nearby motel.

READ: Missing Baytown Realtor May Have Met With Foul Play: Sheriff

Last week, Chambers County Sheriff Brian Hawthorne said he feared McDowell had met with foul play, and those suspicions were confirmed on Saturday.

But investigators were not the only ones who suspected Crystal McDowell wouldn’t be found alive.

Close friends who knew her habits, and who were familiar with her marriage to Stephen McDowell felt she’d met a tragic end.

"When Steve decided that if he couldn't have her, nobody else could he also made the decision for her children, her family and her friends," Morgan Raimondi told the Houston Chronicle. "He took her away from all of us because of his one selfish act."

Meanwhile, an autopsy is being performed and officials have stopped the search while awaiting a positive identification on the body, KPRC reported.

The couple’s children are in the custody of Child Protective Services.

Image: Chambers County Sheriff’s Office
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