S31.E06: Storm Of Suspicion (Crystal McDowell)

[formerlyfreedom]

Quote

48 HOURS gained unprecedented access inside the command center in Baytown, Texas, a suburb of Houston, as investigators searched for a beautiful young mother reported missing just before Hurricane Harvey hit, in “Storm of Suspicion,” to be broadcast Saturday, Oct. 28 (10:00 PM ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

As police and emergency first responders struggled to keep up with the damaging storm, a dedicated team of police investigators gathered to track every clue left behind in the disappearance of Crystal McDowell, a divorced mother of two. McDowell was last seen leaving a boyfriend’s home on the morning of August 25 to pick up her children, who were staying with her ex-husband, Steve McDowell, who said she never arrived.

 

[LittleIggy]

A “beautiful young mother”? Thank goodness she wasn’t ugly! ::eye roll::

[walnutqueen]

The only twist to this story is that instead of being captured by Walmart cameras buying body disposal items, the ex-husband was caught buying his escape bicycle and riding away on it.

Edited October 29, 2017 by walnutqueen

[txhorns79]

I thought the boyfriend's texts to the victim on the day she disappeared were so strange, so I'll admit that I was surprised he wasn't involved.  Who promises to always love and support someone they've only been dating for a few weeks?     

[biakbiak]

I frequently have a problem with the red herrings on this show but was really annoyed this episode for her uncle and her boyfriend because they are still processing her death.

I also didn't like the prosecutor saying no one hires a PI which is obviously not true and made even more sense given that that they naturally assumed the resources of the authorities would be stretched thin under the circumstances.

[Ohmo]

The boyfriend was weird, and I agree with the prosecutor that Steve premeditated the act.  It was well-known that Hurricane Harvey was going to make landfall days before it did.  From a strategic point of view, if you're going to commit a crime, a natural disaster that you know is coming is great cover.  Especially one that will involve large amounts of water that will destroy the clothes or any evidence that could have been in the car.  The show said that he wasn't expecting the level of water, but he knew that water was coming with the hurricane.

I liked the prosecutor.  The PI comment didn't bug me.  I think she'll do a great job of nailing Steve to the wall.

[biakbiak]

31 minutes ago, Ohmo said:

The PI comment didn't bug me.

It bugged me because it was in the larger context of creating a red herring out of a man who had just lost a niece that he had helped raise and it was said purely for the show and was factually untrue. Many, many,many people hire PIs in missing person cases.

[mythoughtis]

Usually police won’t even take a missing person report to 24 hours if it involves an adult without special needs. Then the police were stretched thin by Harvey.  So, yes, I’d hire a PI.- and  look at everything I found find in the house.    I thought 48 hours kind of led the audience in circles on this- blaming the boyfriend, the uncle.  Making it look like the ex was mild mannered, etc.   the police would have known otherwise with just the tiniest bit of research.  

I felt very very bad for all 3 kids( the college age student still seemed like a kid to me).  Each has their own special things to work through. The younger two, who will be raised by a family friend, and will soon lose their memories of their parents. Yet have to live with ‘daddy killed monmy’.  The  older one, who  knew her father in a completely different way, and is old enough to have to deal with all this as an adult. She has to deal with the trial, the media, the loss of her father in her life without someone standing in as parents figure( no family friends to help her navigate her 20s).  The decision whether to try to maintain visits with her father, or cut off all communication.  Her siblings will have these decisions made for them. 

Edited October 29, 2017 by mythoughtis

[Ohmo]

The way I interpreted it, I think the prosecutor was upset that the PI and the family searched Crystal's townhouse, which I can understand being a problem.  People do hire PIs, but didn't the show also say that the police were investigating at that point?  If that's true, then I would expect them to conduct the searches.  There has to be some coordination of some kind, especially when there's potential evidence involved.  I don't think the prosecutor would have had such issue with the PI if he or she were looking at files or conducting surveillance on Steve or the boyfriend.

[Ohmo]

15 minutes ago, mythoughtis said:

Her siblings will have these decisions made for them. 

For awhile, but when they become older and do a Google search (which will likely happen.  The oldest kid is 8 and will likely retain a few memories), they will have to decide if they want to have a relationship with their biological dad.  I just think that eventually, there will be an inevitable Google search.

[biakbiak]

I don't believe they ever mentioned a when they looked through the house or hired the PI in fact in believe they simply stated that it was her uncle and friends who looked through her townhouse which seems extremely standard behavior for someone who is trying ing to locate a family member particularly given the storm. It appeared just another way to build the "suspense" of the TV show and not a legitimate criticism or one that had any negative impact on the case.

[CelticBlackCat]

2 hours ago, Ohmo said:

For awhile, but when they become older and do a Google search (which will likely happen.  The oldest kid is 8 and will likely retain a few memories), they will have to decide if they want to have a relationship with their biological dad.  I just think that eventually, there will be an inevitable Google search.

Or hire a private investigator!

ETA:  I think the oldest daughter who still wants to be in her younger siblings' lives and be there for them as she said will tell them when they're old enough.

2 hours ago, biakbiak said:

I don't believe they ever mentioned a when they looked through the house or hired the PI in fact in believe they simply stated that it was her uncle and friends who looked through her townhouse which seems extremely standard behavior for someone who is trying ing to locate a family member particularly given the storm. It appeared just another way to build the "suspense" of the TV show and not a legitimate criticism or one that had any negative impact on the case.

I agree.  If the police were so on the case, they would have conducted that search already and reported to the family members of their findings.  Also, when a person goes missing, the world does not go into frozen mode because everything (their home, car, etc. ) may be a potential crime scene.

Edited October 29, 2017 by CelticBlackCat

[RedheadZombie]

Well Erin certainly tried to work the angle that Steve was about to kill the children.  "It's almost life or death for these kids."

[Lovecat]

On 10/29/2017 at 7:30 AM, walnutqueen said:

The only twist to this story is that instead of being captured by Walmart cameras buying body disposal items, the ex-husband was caught buying his escape bicycle and riding away on it.

Oh, he did buy the bike at Walmart??  I wasn't paying close attention, but when they mentioned Walmart I looked up, waived my hand in the universal "Well there you go..." gesture, and said something about these fools always getting caught at Walmart.  DH said he wasn't shopping, just riding by.  Irrelevant, I guess, because the Walmart security cameras will ALWAYS bring you down!!

[woodscommaelle]

Seriously boring episode. But I will say I was convinced it was the uncle from the second we 'met' him. Something seemed really off with that guy.

[Tdoc72]

'Caught on a Walmart security camera' is definitely a square on a crime story bingo card!