Rachel Morin update: Family of slain Bel Air mother issue fresh plea for leads as profiler gets involved
DNA found at the scene of Morin’s murder matches the DNA left at a home where an unknown man broke into a home in Los Angeles and violently attacked a young girl back in March
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Rachel Morin’s family are pleading for information that leads to an arrest more than a month after her body was found on the Ma & Pa Trail after she failed to return home from an evening hike.
Authorities in Harford County, Maryland, continue to hunt for Morin’s killer amid fears that the suspect could strike again.
Police previously released footage from the scene of a home invasion and assault in Los Angeles, where DNA found matched DNA at the Morin crime scene.
But despite the developments, investigators have yet to make any arrests in the case.
Morin’s brother Michael Morin told NewsNation on Wednesday that his family was hopeful somebody would provide the key piece of information needed to bring the suspect to justice.
“We only need one lead. We need a last name, we already have DNA and video,” Mr Morin said.
Last week, Morin’s sister Rebekah Morin shared a behavioural profile built by a volunteer criminal profiler.
It suggested that the killer has psychopathic traits and may have travelled to Bel Air because he knew someone in the tight-knit community.
Recap: what we know about the Rachel Morin case
The 37-year-old set out to go hiking on 5 August; her boyfriend Richard Tobin called police at about 11pm to report her missing after she failed to return home that night.
The next morning, the 37-year-old’s car was located at the Williams St entrance to the Ma and Pa Trail.
At 1.07pm on 6 August, a member of the public called 911 to report finding a woman’s body near the trail.
Days after unanswered questions hung in the air about what happened to Morin, finally on 17 August, investigators announced a major break in the case: they discovered DNA at the crime scene. Police said that DNA matched a sample taken from a 26 March home invasion and assault of a young girl across the country.
The suspected murderer and Morin likely didn’t know each other, as police have called the incident a “potentially a random act of violence.” Now, police are searching for leads on how to find the suspect and are asking the public to submit tips to help identify the suspect released in the video footage.
What people are saying about the case
As the mystery surrounding what happened to the mother-of-five has gripped the nation, social media users have made comments about the nature of the case. Seeing as police have described the tragedy as being “a random act of violence,” the freaky thought that this could have happened to anyone seems to be resonating with among social media users.
One Facebook user opined, “So sad a woman can’t go jog in a park.”
Another wrote, “If this assailant could travel from the West Coast to the East Coast in a couple months, then he could be anywhere. I pray he gets caught before anybody else gets hurt.”
A 10 August letter from Rachel Morin’s mother, as posted on Facebook by Rebekah Morin
To all the mothers with daughters, to the fathers, brothers and sisters, husbands, to our local community, and to world onlookers:
If you have experienced the loss of a dear loved one, then you know how hard it can be to express the pain that you feel in your heart.
When it’s sudden and tragic, your mind looks for ways to cope. As a mom, I appreciate the outpouring of love and support from family, friends, and the worldwide community that grieves with me for my young daughter.
Thank you for caring. Truly.
Because of the tremendous outpouring of prayers, love and concern, our family is in the process of making arrangements for a Celebration of Life service to which friends and the community will be invited (more details to come). And because Rachel was an avid runner, we are in the early stages of planning a 5K walk/run in her honor with the hope of having a trail of flowers.
We are grieving. We need the time and space to grieve as a family. We have not forgotten our community. We just need time. . . I need time. It has only been 4 days since we received the horrific news. I ask that as mothers, fathers, brothers, and sisters, that you would please have compassion on us and allow us this.
Thank you, Rachel’s Mom
Rachel Morin Mysterious Death Recap
The 37-year-old was last seen around 6pm getting ready to hike along the Ma and Pa trail in Maryland on 5 August.
At 1.07pm on 6 August, a member of the public called 911 to report finding a woman’s body near the trail.
After her family was left to mourn her mysterious death without any answers for days, finally on 17 August, investigators announced a major break in the case: they discovered DNA at the crime scene.
Beyond this, that DNA matches a sample taken from a 26 March home invasion and assault of a young girl across the country. Now, police are searching for leads on how to find the suspect.
The suspected murderer and Morin likely didn’t know each other, as police have called the incident a “potentially a random act of violence.”
Read more:
Local business hosts Rachel Morin fundraiser
A Bel Air, Maryland bakery, Flavor Cupcakery, said it would donate 20 per cent of its sales on Saturday, during the family’s memorial walk, to help fund the mother-of-five’s funeral expenses.
“Trail of Light & Flowers” set to begin
Family of Rachel Morin are planning a walk in memory of the mother-of-five.
Writing on Facebook, the family asked members of the public to bring flowers and battery powered candles “to lay on either side of the trail somewhere as we walk Rachel’s last steps.”
The family asked the public to assemble 19 August at 11 am at the William Street entrance; the walk will begin at 11.30am.
What is the Ma and Pa trail, where Morin was heading?
The 6.25 mile (10km) trail gets it name from the former Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad corridor that ran through the town of Bel Air in Harford County. Although the track was dismantled in the 1950s, it later transformed 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.
Rachel Morin’s family is hosting a walk in her honor on Saturday along the trail.
A little about Bel Air, Maryland
Bel Air, the county seat of Harford County, is a town of about 10,000 residents located 30 miles (48kms) north of Baltimore, near the state border with Pennsylvania.
The area has many popular hiking trails, and authorities warned hikers to be on high alert as they continued to investigate Ms Morin’s death.
The sheriff previously said, “Thankfully we don’t have too much violent crime in Harford County,” but he warned locals to be vigilant in the wake of Morin’s death.
Morin’s haunting social media post months before she was found
Rachel Morin shared a post in February that suggested she sought thrilling experiences, read: “Risk can be dangerous, but routine can be deadly. Comfort has killed more dreams than daring ever did.”
The post has since been taken down from Facebook.
Read more:
Rachel’s sister posts photos of the mother-of-five on Facebook in her memory
Rebekah Morin keeps changing her social media platform’s profile photos to images of her late sister.
Rebekah Morin organized a GoFundMe page to fund Rachel’s funeral, writing “she did not go willingly and she deserves a funeral worthy of her her beauty.”
