. >> reporter: she was last seen on this surveillance video leaving the home of her boyfriend paul hargrave on friday august 25th. >> that morning we woke up around 6:30 and we both got ready. i jumped in the shower, and she got dressed, and i remember her coming in and saying all right, i'm taking off. >> reporter: according to hargrave, mcdowell left his house, got in her car, and headed to pick up her two children, ages 5 and 8, from her ex-husband steven mcdowell, who lives 12 minutes away. >> she did send me some text messages a little later, shortly after that. she had mentioned that she was going to stay at the house, at the ex-husband's house, with the kids or depending on how traffic and weather conditions were she was going to take them out. >> reporter: crystal's uncle jeff walters also heard from her that morning. >> i received a message friday from her stating that -- about a billboard her boyfriend had put up for her. >> reporter: hargrave had put up a billboard advertisement showcasing mcdowell as a real estate broker. seen here in a text exchange given to us by hargrave, cry

according to her boyfriend paul hargrave, this home security video shows her the next morning leaving house and getting into her car to pick up her kids from her ex-husband who lives just about 20 minutes away. three days later the 38-year-old's black mercedes was found about 13 miles from hargrave's home in this flooded motel 6 parking lot. >> her family wants her back. her children, she's got a 5-year-old and an 8-year-old, and they need her. >> crystal and steven mcdowell divorced in june. investigators say there were two people in crystal's car when it was recovered, but police don't believe they're connected to her disappearance. >>> and harvey is taking a major toll on gas prices. energy department figures show the cost of a gallon of regular jumped 28 cents nationwide in the past week. it's now averaging 2.68. the biggest jump was 41 cents per gallon in the lower atlantic region, which includes west virginia, virginia and the carolinas. about 20% of u.s. oil refinery capacity was in harvey's path. >>> and new crash tests by the insurance industry suggests that small pickup truc

day before hurricane harvey hit in southeast texas on august 25th, crystal texted her boyfriend paul hargrave to say she was on her way to pick up her children. no traffic today. you are so sweet. >> i knew something was wrong. because of the conversations we had had about her ex-husband, i was a bit concerned when i didn't get a reply back. >> reporter: mcdowell was staying at her ex's house because her home was being renovated. their children ages 5 and 8 were also staying there. mcdowell's car was found abandoned in this flooded motel 6 parking lot three days after she vanished. >> the cops were here busting in doors to find out where this lady was. >> reporter: police finally low indicated the 37-year-old's body. mcdowell's unz kel jeff walters reported her missing. >> her parents died when she was young, and i guess i'm the closest one to her in the family. she's like my daughter. >> reporter: the sheriff does not believe that her children actually witnessed her death. they're now in custody of some other relatives. her autopsy was performed yesterday and right now we still don't have a

. >> reporter: paul hargrave said he and crystal started dating and suggested her relationship with her i think she wanted to get out of the situation and move forward. >> i think there was probably some animosity between boyfriends and husbands and husband probably might think the boyfriend had something to do with it and the boyfriend might think the husband had something to do it which is what we're faced with right now. >> reporter: sheriff hawthorne knows this family wants answers but his resources are stretched thin. two of the investigators, mind you, were flooded out of their homes. >> oh, boy, michelle, that sounds sinister. sounds like a story for 48 hours. children are missing their mother and it's a sad story. thank you very much. >>> here's a look a this morning's other headlines for you today. the san francisco chronicle reports wells fargo has uncovered additional fake bank accounts. the bank set a total of 3.5 million accounts may have been opened without customers' permission. that's up from the original estimate of 2.1 million. last year wells fargo paid $185 million i

according to her boyfriend, paul hargrave, this home security video shows her the next morning headingse and getting into her car on her way to pick up her kids from her ex-husband who lives about 20 minutes away. >> she did send me some text messages basically that the roads were clear, of what to do in preparation of the storm. >> reporter: hargrave showed us his last text message exchange. with mcdowell. her last text message to hargrave was, and you are so sweet. the 38-year-old's black mercedes was found about 13 miles away from hargrave's home in this flooded motel 6 parking lot three days later. mcdowell is a successful houston area real estate agent and her youtube page containing videos of her home listings. hargrave said she had been fighting with her ex-husband in the days before her disappearance. >> she wouldn't just get up and leave her kids. she wouldn't. she wouldn't do that so i think something is horribly wrong. >> i think there was probably some animosity between boyfriends and husbands and the husband probably might think the boyfriend had something to do with it an

. >> reporter: crystal started dating paul hargrave just three weeks before her death. day she went missing she was heading to pick up her children at her ex-husband's home. >> she did make it to and see her kids that particular day. >> reporter: three days later the 37-year-old's black mercedes was found in this flooded parking lot and over a week later her body was found in a wooded area nearby. steven mcdowell is now charged with first degree murder. but police haven't yet revealed a possible motive. >> there had been some tension and stress and there have been some, you know potential disagreements. >> i had my suspicions from day one. i can't say that i was honestly that surprised given the arguments they had the week prior of her missing. >> reporter: the mcdowells shared custody of their children after finalizing their divorce in june but mcdowell was still living with her ex-husband while her home was being remodeled. >> a lot of that was so she had access to the children. the children were primarily staying with steve. >> reporter: and this isn't the couple's f