Found Deceased TX - Crystal Seratte McDowell, 38, Baytown, 25 Aug 2017 #3 *Arrest*

[mumzysr]

Personally, I don't always trust that comments on social media are necessarily sincere. I think most people nowadays don't post true feelings/opinions in comments if they feel it might rub others the wrong way, thus setting themselves up for backlash and hordes of people with torches & bloodhounds chasing them down to burn them at the stake, lol. So they post something "nice" out of obligation, or they don't post anything at all. Social media, imo, is VERY superficial and I take everything I witness on all of it with a grain of salt. (UNLESS it's strictly, and obviously, a small group of people/family that actually know one another.) The comments on eithers fb don't hold a lot of weight with me in regards to this situation (simply because I don't know who's who-[family? friends?] posting those comments.)

Also, in regards to the "love" professed by both cm & ph: really? I don't doubt they may have been experiencing a rush of wonderful emotions but...true love? Call me skeptical, jaded, cynical whatever, just please don't throw things at me for expressing these OPINIONS of mine. (~;

 

[Seajay]

Personally, I don't always trust that comments on social media are necessarily sincere. I think most people nowadays don't post true feelings/opinions in comments if they feel it might rub others the wrong way, thus setting themselves up for backlash and hordes of people with torches & bloodhounds chasing them down to burn them at the stake, lol. So they post something "nice" out of obligation, or they don't post anything at all. Social media, imo, is VERY superficial and I take everything I witness on all of it with a grain of salt. (UNLESS it's strictly, and obviously, a small group of people/family that actually know one another.) The comments on eithers fb don't hold a lot of weight with me in regards to this situation (simply because I don't know who's who-[family? friends?] posting those comments.)

Also, in regards to the "love" professed by both cm & ph: really? I don't doubt they may have been experiencing a rush of wonderful emotions but...true love? Call me skeptical, jaded, cynical whatever, just please don't throw things at me for expressing these OPINIONS of mine. (~;

I think they could have been in love, especially what they felt was love. It could have just been the rush of the newness of the relationship, but it could also have been love. Neither were teenagers and at least she had been married before, so I don't think neither of them were unfamiliar with that feeling. At least it appears it was to them. She wrote it in texts and he has said it in interviews. Whether or not it would have been love to us, it was obviously love to them.

 

[KelsK]

I haven't read anything on social media, thus far. I've watched Nancy Grace, (now Ashley Banfield), since I was 9 or 10. I think Crystal's ex husband could use this huge nationwide platform to help in finding the mother of his children. I don't like his excuse one bit as to why he doesn't want to even speak via telephone to HLN. I hope he's helping with the search.. Thank God for Tim Miller!

 

[Catladyhou]

IMO -

The 'inappropriate' relationship comment by the Sheriff is just unprofessional. They should not be leading the case. My concern is that the reason they are concentrating in the current search is because it IS in their county jurisdiction. The original ping site is not. It is in Baytown!

I don't know the family or the LE and this is all my opinion. The sheriff may have made the comment about her relationships without thinking about the words he was using. I wouldn't spend time parsing his words. I would also not post much that is being said online in FB. Crystal's children are going to read these things. The parents of their friends will read them and their friends will hear them. Children are cruel. Not only have they lost a parent so publicly but it is soon after a divorce where they were split about who to live with. Friends and family are upset and concerned. There will be some trolls, some gossip and innuendo and finger pointing that will not help. Baytown can be cliquish. There is still a small town feel if your family is well known (like Paul's and Crystal's). We only had two high schools until the last decade when it has exploded.

The family likely searched the townhouse before the report. The car search was the fault of the sheriff's ineptness. If it was evidence he should have towed the car. If he wanted to search the home, he could have treated it like a crime scene. Any family would be frantic. If it were me, I would have gone there right after the Ex's home. In that situation your first thought is not that they were abducted or a crime victim. You want to believe THAT could never happen. So they go to the home to make sure she hasn't fallen or had a medical emergency. They find the laptop (I think at ex's). It has been wiped intentionally. So they start searching for phone numbers of her clients, her listings, etc. Anything that might help them find where or who she was supposed to meet.

In the meantime LE appeared to do nothing. They supposedly assigned a person on the case throughout the storm but it didn't seem like there was much communication. Baytown was hit very hard by Harvey. Major cell phone towers were out and some landline phones and electricity are still not restored. The rural area of the county was hit harder. The claim that Baytown PD was not involved because they are stretched thin should have applied to both forces. The Baytown PD did not lose power and the areas mentioned are all very near their HQ on Main Street. It is also a stone's throw from both Crystal's office and the ping site. I just don't understand why Baytown was not involved. LE could have easily put the townhouse on lockdown if they could not search it immediately. Being publicly frustrated with the family for frantically going through every single possible shred of ideas is a bit rich.

The family got people out to the ping site and then LE stopped the search because the public might disturb evidence. Now they call for a huge public search in the rural area near the Ex's job. I'm sure the public could disturb evidence there too, right? Why is either location different? Why not another search in the ping area also? I guess I'm just not impressed with LE. I hope I'm wrong and they are just keeping it close.

Crystal's car should have been impounded as soon as it was found. It should NEVER have been in the Motel parking lot unattended. Of course the family would rush out there and search. They felt police were NOT doing anything. I don't blame them for LE's ineptness. LE could have requested support from the FBI and/or the Texas Rangers. Either would have sent resources to help coordinate with the various agencies, families, counties, and sites. Their resources were probably not so stretched. They have a larger pool of investigators. Once Crystal did not get in contact with her young children during such a dangerous storm and her laptop was found intentionally formatted, it was a clear signal that time was of the essence.

 

[mumzysr]

Seajay, I guess that's one way of looking at it but I just see things differently I suppose.

Kelsk, ex is leaving himself open to a lot of speculation for sure. If I were to attempt to put myself in his shoes, I'm not quite sure how I would respond. From what I know (from reading, not personally), he MAY have only learned of bf, her disappearance, the cruise etc., etc., all in one sitting. That's a LOT to process. Add to that this relative "stranger" taking the reins in the situation and presenting himself as being so knowledgable to the media and the public at large, I would think that would feel like a major gut punch. Idk. It's all so strange. Who knows what the poor guy is going through. Shock, I'm sure. Big time. He may be feeling railroaded and like he can't get a word in edgewise. Who knows? I feel for him right now though. It appears he's been a dutiful father while cm pursued her careers and interests so I give him props for that much.

 

[EyesofTheSouth]

Apparently she went into the store to get something made or repaired, something of that nature. I suppose it could be a business relationship but she spent the night at his house. So that makes it a bit weird.

I might be wrong but I think she has a son and a daughter.

I just don't buy that they only met at the beginning of August and are already saying I love you 3 weeks later.

Why does the boyfriend keep changing the amount of time they've been dating? Either things moved way too fast, or they were dating before the divorce was final.

If the latter is true, why lie? She was still married on paper, but she wouldn't be the first person to date before the ink was dry. Is it a reputation thing? Like he thinks it would make her/them look bad for dating while she was still married? I don't get it. But, it seems much hinkier that he keeps changing their timeline rather than just saying they were involved while she was still legally married.

If they only did just start dating 3 weeks prior to her disappearance, it just makes their relationship weirder to me. Sure i guess people can be 'gaga' early on in a relationship, but they would hardly know each other, hardly have had time to spend together and get to know each other. Even if they spent 24/7 of the three weeks together. I don't think they did, cause they both work, plus she has kids.

The bf may not be guilty, but he seems to be talking a lot when, if they really were only dating 3 weeks, seems odd. I don't think he would know that much about her; certainly not enough to be the self-appointed spokesman.

I mean, if they were dating before the divorce was final, just say so. Because if he isn't involved in her disappearance, his constantly changing timeline sure raises suspicion, perhaps unfairly.

As far as the ex goes, I'm not seeing anything that makes me go 'he definitely did it'.

He's shying away from the media. I don't find that strange. He seems to be a private person. He has the kids to think of, and who knows if they have seen or heard anything about their mother with this story splashed across national news every day. At their ages, they might be too young to understand, but what if friends/classmates say something like 'your mom had a boyfriend' when they could be looking at themselves as a happy family all living under the same roof?

I don't know if the kids were told about the divorce. Somehow I dont think so. If they were, either Crystal or her ex should have moved out. But they may be hearing about this stuff secondhand.

I really don't get the idea either that they continued to appear married for her career. Why? Do people really care if their realtor is divorced?

I don't know if the husband did anything to her. Some people seem very convinced. I know when someone is killed or disappears, suspicion always falls on the spouse. But I'm just not seeing anything concrete.

The ex may not be speaking because they had a long, and possibly complicated, relationship. If the bf was already declaring his love at 3 weeks, think about the guy who was with her for 10 years and had two kids with her. I'm sure he's got extremely mixed feelings, especially if he's innocent.

He may have still loved her. He may have still hoped for a reconciliation. He may have been completely blindsided to find out she had a boyfriend with whom she was exchanging ' I love yous'.

At the beginning, I saw that the uncle said the the ex 'threatened' that she would never leave him. Did he? Was it those exact words? Did he say something more like 'you would never leave me and the kids'? Or just calling her bluff because she filed for divorce before then rescinded it? Or because she apparently asked him to present the happy family image to her clients? We really don't know.

We don't know if the ex was violent or threatening. We know from one comment that the uncle had an unfavorable view of the ex. That may have been founded or unfounded. Sometimes inlaws just don't like a person. Internet forums are full of people complaining that their inlaw (usually mother-in-law) straight up hates them because they don't think they are good enough for the inlaws' loved one. Does the uncle think the ex wasn't good enough for Crystal?

We know, according to the text friend, that Crystal complained about the ex 'using her'. Was it financially? Because she made more money? She seems very ambitious. Maybe she didn't think her ex was, or wasn't trying hard enough to be successful. Perhaps that's the uncle's view as well; that ex was sponging off his niece? Some people do still believe the man needs to be the breadwinner and needs to be more successful than his wife.

I just am really not ready to convict the ex based on two comments made about him, especially when they were attributed to a woman who seems to have had a complicated relationship with him. People say things in the heat of the moment, especially when they are arguing. It's just not enough for me to convict the ex.

As the investigation progresses, i could change my mind. But, we know very little about the ex and the totality of their relationship. We mostly just know about Crystal and her boyfriend, and that's all coming from a biased, involved party. Of course he would maximize the good and minimize any bad, or just not bring it to light.

The ex could have found out about the bf and the trip and killed her out of jealousy. But maybe he wasn't jealous and didn't kill her over that. Not everyone kills a partner/ex because they moved on with someone else; and that's the only motive I've seen suggested. We just don't know if he was a crazy, possessive lunatic.

Or the bf could have been jealous that she was 'going home' to the ex nearly every night. Or maybe he wasn't. Maybe he was gaga and she was too. Maybe he didn't do anything to her either. We just don't know.

My suspicion leans towards the boyfriend because he was the last to see her and the camera discrepancies. Not just the one home camera, but one from work too. The time stamp is a big issue for me because it doesn't make sense.

Outside of that, I wouldn't have much suspicion towards him either, even though he seems so overzealous. But being overzealous is not a crime.

 

[EyesofTheSouth]

But that post on facebook wasn't the only place she said she was happy. She said in text messages to the friend (BB) that she was happy about her new boyfriend and in text messages to her boyfriend she seems to be head-over-heels in love (JMO). She was planning a cruise and then after that a trip to Belgium with the boyfriend and she told him in texts how excited she was to travel with him. Her uncle said she was successful in her real estate career. She was building a new home for herself. The only thing in life she did not seem happy about was her ex who she called a jerk and said he takes advantage of her. I think she was moving on with her life and was happy how it was working out. Someone didn't like that she was happy. JMO.

I wonder if it was really love or just infatuation that she thought she found the guy she was looking for. We haven't heard too much about Crystal's history with her ex, why she canceled the first divorce and went on t have two children with him, then ultimately divorced him about 10 years later.

If she really did ask him to play along at being a happy family for the sake or her clients and business, it seems how she appeared to others was pretty important.

The text friend says Crystal complained the ex was using her. I can't imagine in what way except maybe financially. She was seemingly making lots of money -- she had an expensive car, she apparently paid for the whole family to go on the cruise. What does the ex do? A factory job or something?

A factory job or being 'blue collar' is certainly nothing to be ashamed of. But she seemed to be on a different level.

Along comes the bf who manages a high end jewelry store and takes trips to Europe. He may seem more ambitious and successful. And maybe that appealed to her. Someone who was on more equal footing financially.

I'm not saying there's anything wrong with wanting a partner to pull their fair share of the weight. I've been in that situation before, although it was pretty much providing the only income for a period of time. It's frustrating to think someone is not contributing enough. But, the ex did have a steady job as far as I know.

I guess what I'm saying is maybe the bf is the wealthy successful guy with a prestigious job that she always hope her ex would be. I'm not criticizing her for that. But maybe she saw their relationship in an idealized manner. That they would be able to take trips and do/have things. They wouldn't worry about being financially stable. The pressure would be off her. Maybe she idealized the bf as the kind of man she's always been looking for, more of an equal?

Sometimes successful ambitious people have a hard time being with someone who seems less so. Maybe she was expensive cars and trips to Europe. Maybe the ex was a beer and camping kinda guy. There's nothing wrong with her wanting to find someone more similar to herself. But maybe that's why she seemingly fell so head over heels despite apparently not knowing the bf very long. Maybe she had an idealized idea of the future they could have.

 

[iluvmua]

I just do not understand why the boyfriend is ALL over the place talking as if he had known and dated crystal for years. It is super strange and odd. Jmo

 

[EmmieA]

I don't know if the kids were told about the divorce. Somehow I dont think so. If they were, either Crystal or her ex should have moved out. But they may be hearing about this stuff secondhand.
.

The kids are young but I'm thinking they must have known about the divorce in some form or how else to explain why Mom wasn't sleeping there every night?

Was it ever discussed if she did sleep at the Ex's most nights? (I think I remember something from the first thread but have to go back & look)

After the 'inappropriate relationship' comment from LE I'm leaning towards the Ex playing a role in her disappearance or somone who was romantically linked to her that we don't know about yet.

All my opinion.

 

[chinablue1]

maybe the ex intercepted her on the way to the house and said don't worry the kids are at his work but really they were home sleeping.

 

[manlet]

The sheriff said there was other POI's (not just the bf or ex-husband) and that she had a history of several romantic relationships...

I wish we could know who her other romantic partners were who might be involved in her disappearance.

 

[mrsNKY]

The sheriff said there was other POI's (not just the bf or ex-husband) and that she had a history of several romantic relationships...

I wish we could know who her other romantic partners were who might be involved in her disappearance.

I think this can go in so many directions. This is so odd to me, generally I have an inkling by now. This one changes every 5 minutes.

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[mrsNKY]

I wonder if it was really love or just infatuation that she thought she found the guy she was looking for. We haven't heard too much about Crystal's history with her ex, why she canceled the first divorce and went on t have two children with him, then ultimately divorced him about 10 years later.

If she really did ask him to play along at being a happy family for the sake or her clients and business, it seems how she appeared to others was pretty important.

The text friend says Crystal complained the ex was using her. I can't imagine in what way except maybe financially. She was seemingly making lots of money -- she had an expensive car, she apparently paid for the whole family to go on the cruise. What does the ex do? A factory job or something?

A factory job or being 'blue collar' is certainly nothing to be ashamed of. But she seemed to be on a different level.

Along comes the bf who manages a high end jewelry store and takes trips to Europe. He may seem more ambitious and successful. And maybe that appealed to her. Someone who was on more equal footing financially.

I'm not saying there's anything wrong with wanting a partner to pull their fair share of the weight. I've been in that situation before, although it was pretty much providing the only income for a period of time. It's frustrating to think someone is not contributing enough. But, the ex did have a steady job as far as I know.

I guess what I'm saying is maybe the bf is the wealthy successful guy with a prestigious job that she always hope her ex would be. I'm not criticizing her for that. But maybe she saw their relationship in an idealized manner. That they would be able to take trips and do/have things. They wouldn't worry about being financially stable. The pressure would be off her. Maybe she idealized the bf as the kind of man she's always been looking for, more of an equal?

Sometimes successful ambitious people have a hard time being with someone who seems less so. Maybe she was expensive cars and trips to Europe. Maybe the ex was a beer and camping kinda guy. There's nothing wrong with her wanting to find someone more similar to herself. But maybe that's why she seemingly fell so head over heels despite apparently not knowing the bf very long. Maybe she had an idealized idea of the future they could have.

Sometimes if one is an introvert and the other is an extrovert, that creates some issues as well. It can make for a stale relationship to an outgoing person. These two may be a perfect example of that. That could be why the "dude" is exciting. He seems to be an extrovert too. Obviously. Lol

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[mrsNKY]

I just do not understand why the boyfriend is ALL over the place talking as if he had known and dated crystal for years. It is super strange and odd. Jmo

Agree! I don't necessarily think he is guilty. But, not only is he "all over the place" he is all over the place telling inconsistent stories!!! That drives me nuts. I feel that he may be trying to endear himself to family, while throwing shady stabs at the ex. Because one thing is for sure, he is persistent in pointing out how in love they were, yada yada and I wonder if that is why he is allowed to keep talking?

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[mrsNKY]

maybe the ex intercepted her on the way to the house and said don't worry the kids are at his work but really they were home sleeping.

Personally, I don't see enough time given the timeline. But, stranger things have happened so I never say never. Lol

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[SuperTmo]

I think they could have been in love, especially what they felt was love. It could have just been the rush of the newness of the relationship, but it could also have been love. Neither were teenagers and at least she had been married before, so I don't think neither of them were unfamiliar with that feeling. At least it appears it was to them. She wrote it in texts and he has said it in interviews. Whether or not it would have been love to us, it was obviously love to them.

They only knew each other for three weeks max. He said they met at the beginning of August (not sure what day but he said she came into the shop) and then she was missing by the 25th. So they were a couple for less time than that. It seems like they were both quite busy so how often were they together? In the beginning I thought she probably only saw him when her ex had the kids, so not often, but it does seem like the ex had them more than she did. Ugh... I don't know. How often was she spending the night away from home?

IMO I think what they experienced was more likely infatuation, mistaken for true love. I don't think you can be in love with someone you barely know, but you certainly can be infatuated with them. That's how every relationship starts. Sometimes we think its love from the start but I think it's actually infatuation that turns into love as you get to know them. Nothing wrong with this... i think it's the normal progression of things. I just don't think most people pay attention to the differences because they likely feel a lot the same.

 

[SuperTmo]

IMO -

The 'inappropriate' relationship comment by the Sheriff is just unprofessional. They should not be leading the case. My concern is that the reason they are concentrating in the current search is because it IS in their county jurisdiction. The original ping site is not. It is in Baytown!

I don't know the family or the LE and this is all my opinion. The sheriff may have made the comment about her relationships without thinking about the words he was using. I wouldn't spend time parsing his words. I would also not post much that is being said online in FB. Crystal's children are going to read these things. The parents of their friends will read them and their friends will hear them. Children are cruel. Not only have they lost a parent so publicly but it is soon after a divorce where they were split about who to live with. Friends and family are upset and concerned. There will be some trolls, some gossip and innuendo and finger pointing that will not help. Baytown can be cliquish. There is still a small town feel if your family is well known (like Paul's and Crystal's). We only had two high schools until the last decade when it has exploded.

The family likely searched the townhouse before the report. The car search was the fault of the sheriff's ineptness. If it was evidence he should have towed the car. If he wanted to search the home, he could have treated it like a crime scene. Any family would be frantic. If it were me, I would have gone there right after the Ex's home. In that situation your first thought is not that they were abducted or a crime victim. You want to believe THAT could never happen. So they go to the home to make sure she hasn't fallen or had a medical emergency. They find the laptop (I think at ex's). It has been wiped intentionally. So they start searching for phone numbers of her clients, her listings, etc. Anything that might help them find where or who she was supposed to meet.

In the meantime LE appeared to do nothing. They supposedly assigned a person on the case throughout the storm but it didn't seem like there was much communication. Baytown was hit very hard by Harvey. Major cell phone towers were out and some landline phones and electricity are still not restored. The rural area of the county was hit harder. The claim that Baytown PD was not involved because they are stretched thin should have applied to both forces. The Baytown PD did not lose power and the areas mentioned are all very near their HQ on Main Street. It is also a stone's throw from both Crystal's office and the ping site. I just don't understand why Baytown was not involved. LE could have easily put the townhouse on lockdown if they could not search it immediately. Being publicly frustrated with the family for frantically going through every single possible shred of ideas is a bit rich.

The family got people out to the ping site and then LE stopped the search because the public might disturb evidence. Now they call for a huge public search in the rural area near the Ex's job. I'm sure the public could disturb evidence there too, right? Why is either location different? Why not another search in the ping area also? I guess I'm just not impressed with LE. I hope I'm wrong and they are just keeping it close.

Crystal's car should have been impounded as soon as it was found. It should NEVER have been in the Motel parking lot unattended. Of course the family would rush out there and search. They felt police were NOT doing anything. I don't blame them for LE's ineptness. LE could have requested support from the FBI and/or the Texas Rangers. Either would have sent resources to help coordinate with the various agencies, families, counties, and sites. Their resources were probably not so stretched. They have a larger pool of investigators. Once Crystal did not get in contact with her young children during such a dangerous storm and her laptop was found intentionally formatted, it was a clear signal that time was of the essence.

Correct me if I am wrong, please, but didn't the family find out the location of the car because of a post on social media? They went and searched through it and THEN informed the police of its location. That is how I interpreted this whole thing. I get the family wanting to find any clue as to where she is but they should have called the police immediately and not touched the car.

 

[mrsNKY]

Correct me if I am wrong, please, but didn't the family find out the location of the car because of a post on social media? They went and searched through it and THEN informed the police of its location. That is how I interpreted this whole thing. I get the family wanting to find any clue as to where she is but they should have called the police immediately and not touched the car.

I read that too. And they did the same thing with the townhome. Then when they heard about the phone ping, they raced there too. That could create issues, I hope not. I also think this is either going to be a circumstantial evidence case unless they have something pretty substantial physically. But,then again they have other things we don't know about as well.



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[SuperTmo]

I think what bugs me about the boyfriend is that he is everywhere, seemingly enjoying the attention and sympathy he is receiving for the woman he love so much being missing. He barely knew her. Should he be sad and worried, sure. Should he be making this his story? No! It's not about him, but he sure loves the attention. It is so off-putting.

People who are telling the truth don't have their stories changing like shifting sand. He said they were dating months and then one month and now three weeks. There is NO way this relationship was so significant to him if he can't even remember when he met her. It isn't like he couldn't remember when he started dating her 6 years ago or one year ago. Three weeks! I'm not saying he did something to her, but I'm saying this relationship probably wasn't that important to him.

The ex - to be fair, we don't know what he does at his job. (Unless I missed it) He could be the janitor or he could be the CEO. We don't know his role so we can't possibly know how much money he might be making. Being a part time flight attendant probably isn't a big money maker and we don't know what she receives as her cut of the revenue she generated for the real estate company. They seemed to not be hurting for money before she started selling houses, so maybe he makes good money.

 

[Gardenista]

Maybe. There are multiple pages for her.

I'm not talking about pages. I'm talking about people.