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

Harford County Sheriff’s Office said investigators had been made aware of potential witnesses who may have seen Morin on the Ma & Pa trail

Woman's body found off of popular trail believed to be missing Maryland woman

More than a week after mother-of-five Rachel Morin was found dead on a popular trail in Maryland, authorities have yet to make any arrests in the investigation into her death.

Morin, 37, was last seen heading to the Ma & Pa Trail at around 6pm on 5 August. Her boyfriend reported her missing that night after she failed to return home and her body was found the following day.

On Thursday, Harford County Sheriff’s Office said investigators had been made aware of potential witnesses who may have seen Morin on the Ma & Pa Trail in Bel Air on Saturday. The witnesses – either three men, two women and two dogs or two men, three women and two dogs – were urged to come forward.

Officials said that these individuals had been identified and were contacted by investigators.

A spokesperson for the sheriff’s office told The Independent on Tuesday that the department had increased patrol on the Ma & Pa Trail area to reassure the community in the aftermath of Morin’s tragic death, but noted that there is no perceived threat at this time.

Key points

• Rachel Morin last seen alive heading to Ma and Pa hiking trail in Maryland
• Mother-of-five killed just a week after her baby niece died
• Boyfriend breaks silence over death to deny involvement
• Morin’s sister launches GoFundMe page to help with funeral expenses

[16 August 2023 09:30 · Andrea Blanco]

Rachel Morin was found dead on a popular Maryland hiking trail. Her sister says she ‘did not go willingly’

Authorities have warned hikers that hiking trails around Bel Air may not be safe.

The Independent’s Bevan Hurley reports:

[16 August 2023 11:00 · Andrea Cavallier]

Maryland sheriff calls out ‘heinous coward’ who killed mother-of-five Rachel Morin

A sheriff in Maryland has vowed that the “heinous coward” who authorities believe killed mother-of-five Rachel Morin will be brought to justice - though investigators still have yet to identify a suspect.

Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler did not share many details in the Wednesday 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.”

Morin, 37, was last seen heading to the Ma & Pa Trail in Bel Air at around 6pm on 5 August, according to the Harford County Sheriff’s Office.

After she failed to return home that night, her boyfriend Richard Tobin reported her missing.

Morin’s body was later found near the trail, and her death was labelled a homicide.

“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.

He added that a team of detectives have been working around the clock to piece together a timeline of the case and that some of the “more than 100 tips” that have been submitted by the public “have been promising.”

[16 August 2023 12:30 · Andrea Blanco]

Man who described grisly state of Rachel Morin’s body never actually saw it, sheriff says

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.

Michael 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.

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.”