Rachel Morin – latest: Bel Air mother-of-five’s killer remains at large as Maryland police step up patrols

The identity of a body found on a Maryland hiking trail on Sunday has been confirmed as mother-of-five Rachel Morin.

A spokesperson for the Harford County Sheriff’s Office told The Independent that the medical examiner’s office had identified the 37-year-old’s body on Monday.

The spokesperson could not provide a cause of death, what injuries she suffered, or whether any suspects have been identified.

Morin was reported missing after she failed to return from a hike on the Ma and Pa Trail in Bel Air, about 30 miles northeast of Baltimore, on Saturday night.

Her body was found by a member of the public along the 6.25m (10km) trail just after 1pm on Sunday.

The 6.25 mile (10km) trail gets its name from the former Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad corridor that ran through the town of Bel Air in Harford County.

The track was dismantled in the 1950s, and later turned into a heritage trail along the railroad’s former route.

It consists of a 3.3mile section through Bel Air and a 1.7mile segment in neighbouring Forest Hill.

According to Alltrails.com, the trail is moderately challenging and takes around 2 hours and 25 minutes to complete.

In the wake of Ms Morin’s death, authorities have warned hikers to take particular care and be aware of their surroundings.

A GoFundMe launched to help with funeral expenses for Rachel Morin has now topped $42,000.

“It is with devastating sadness and a broken heart that our family has been hit with yet another heartbreak. My sister, Rachel Morin went missing on Saturday August 5 2023 around 6pm. In less then 24 hours her body was found by local law enforcement. I have made a gofundme to help my mother, Patty Morin with funeral costs. There was no life insurance in place,” the GoFundMe read.

“This was not an accidentally death, and she did not go willingly and she deserves a funeral worthy of her her beauty. If there are any remaining funds they will go towards things her 5 children may need. Please share, donate, comment and keep this going.

“Once we have made the arrangements I will update with service dates and times. If you wish to donate directly please message me on Facebook.”

As of Friday morning, it had reached $42, 317.

Saturday, 5 August

6pm – Rachel Morin is last seen heading out to run on the Ma & Pa Trail in northern Maryland.

11.23pm – The boyfriend of Rachel reports her missing after she does not return home.

Police begin searching for Rachel on the trail and surrounding areas.

Sunday, 6 August

1pm – Body of female victim located off of the Ma & Pa Trail is reported to police.

Monday, 7 August

Police confirm the body found on the rail is Rachel Morin.

Harford County Sheriff Jeffery Gahler said investigators do not yet have a “solid suspect” in the killing of Rachel Morin.

“We do not have a solid suspect. Not knowing whether this was a targeted event specific to Rachel, we are going to say, yes, be aware, be thinking there could be somebody out here and this is a random event,” Mr Gahler said.

Mr Gahler urged the public to be vigilant when walking along the Ma & Pa Trail and said there will be increased patrols along the trail.

Rachel Morin, 37, disappeared after reportedly heading out for a hike on the Ma and Pa Trail in Bel Air, Hartford County, at around 6pm on Saturday.

Her boyfriend Richard Tobin, 27, reported her missing at around 11pm that night after she failed to return, Hartford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler told a press conference on Sunday.

Authorities launched a missing person investigation and Ms Morin’s car was found at the Williams St entrance to the trail on Sunday morning. A member of the public found a woman’s body near the trail at 1.07pm, and authorities launched a homicide investigation as they await formal confirmation of the deceased’s identity and cause of death from the medical examiner’s office.

On Sunday night, Mr Tobin took to social media to state his innocence while also making reference to his lengthy criminal rap sheet.

“I love Rachel, I would never do anything to her, let the family and I grieve,” Mr Tobin wrote.

“Yes I have a past but I also have 15 months clean and have changed as a person. Please.”

Ms Morin’s devastated sister Rebekah Morin confirmed in a post on a GoFundme page that the remains located on the Ma and Pa Trail belonged to her sister.

Rachel Morin was last seen alive heading off on the Ma and Pa Trail near Bel Air in Maryland

“My sister, Rachel Morin went missing on Saturday August 5 2023 around 6 pm. In less then 24 hours her body was found by local law enforcement,” she wrote.

Rebekah Morin added her death was “not accidental”, and she “did not go willingly”.

She also revealed that the family had been devastated by the loss of her niece to sudden infant death syndrome just a week earlier.

Rachel Morin shared a post on Facebook that hinted at her possible affinity for thrill months before she was found dead along a forest trail in Maryland.

The Independent’s Alisha Rahaman Sarkar reports:

Michael Gabriszeski, the Maryland man who claimed he saw the body of 37-year-old Rachel Morin was not even “within eyesight of the crime scene” when she was found, the Harford County Sheriff’s Office told The Independent.

Mr Gabriszeski, 49, claimed to multiple news outlets that he and his stepdaughter came across Morin’s body on Sunday when they joined the search for the missing mother-of-five, who had vanished on Saturday after going for a jog on the Ma and Pa Trail in Bel Air, Maryland.

Mr Gabriszeski said that his stepdaughter, who he said was a friend of Morin’s, was the first to discover the body in a tunnel near the trail before they alerted police.

But a spokesperson for the Harford County’s Sheriff’s Office confirmed to The Independent on Thursday that Mr Gabriszeski “did not find Rachel’s body” and that he did not “view her body.”