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

Ms Morin’s sister Rebekah, herself a mother of seven children, revealed on a GoFundMe page that the family had been grieving the death of their niece Lily Beth to sudden infant death syndrome just a week earlier.

“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. It has only been a week since my niece Lily Beth passed away from SIDS, and I find that I have to make yet another gofundme to help my mother, Patty Morin with funeral costs.”

Rebekah confirmed that her sister did not have life insurance, and appealed for financial assistance to provide for her five surviving children.

Rachel Morin’s boss Margaret Woltz told The New York Post that Morin “loved her children above all.”

“She raised them very well. She had a flexible work schedule that allowed her to make sure her kids were always taken care of. We were like grandparents to the kids and we trusted her implicitly,” Ms Woltz, 69, said.

Ms Woltz, who hired Morin’s cleaning services, also said that she seemed distracted during the week before her death.

Ms Morin’s boyfriend Richard Tobin reported him missing on Saturday after she failed to return home.

Responding to speculation in the case, Mr Tobin, 27, previously said on a Facebook post that he “would never do anything” to Morin.

A source close to Mr Tobin has since told The Baltimore Banner that he gave his cell phone and a DNA sample to police.

Authorities have not identified any suspects in the investigation.

On Thursday, Harford County Sheriff’s Office said investigators had been made aware of potential witnesses who may have seen Morin on the trail that night. The witnesses – either three men, two women and two dogs or two men, three women and two dogs – were urged to come forward.

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.

Just a week after Morin’s homicide rocked the town of Bel Air in Maryland, the Harford County Sheriff’s Foundation has purchased a new Gator ATV in response to an “immediate police operational need,” Fox Digital News reports.

According to WBALTV, law enforcement has increased patrols along the Ma and Pa Trail in the aftermath of Morin’s homicide.

It is unclear if the new vehicle is being actively used in the Morin case. The Independent has reached out to the Harford County Sheriff’s Office.

Officials said that three potential witnesses have been identified and were contacted by investigators.

Investigators do not yet have a “solid suspect” in the killing of Rachel Morin.

Harford County Sheriff Jeffery Gahler said in the latest update last week that it was unclear whether the homicide was targeted.

“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.

Law enforcement has since said that potential witnesses have been identified and contacted by detectives.

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.

Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler vowed to bring the “heinous coward” who killed mother-of-five Rachel Morin to justice - though investigators still have yet to identify a suspect.

Mr Gahler did not share many details in the update over concern of “jeopardising the ongoing probe,” but said there was one thing he was sure of, and that “this was an intentional taking of a person’s life.”

“Together we will solve this crime and find the heinous coward who took Rachel Morin from her family and friends,” Mr Gahler said on Wednesday.

The Independent’s Andrea Cavallier reports:

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 5 August.

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 the morning of 7 August. 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.

Last week, 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.”

The mother of Rachel Morin has broken her silence with a plea for compassion as the family takes time to grieve the “sudden and tragic” loss of the 37-year-old whose body was found after she vanished while going for a jog on the Ma and Pa Trail in Bel Air.