Family Of Slain Mom Has Hope Killer Might Be Caught After Sketch Of Suspect Released

Maryland authorities on Monday released a sketch of a man they believe is responsible for the killing of a mother of five whose body was found on a hiking trail last summer.

Rachel Morin, 37,  was reported missing Aug. 5, 2023, by her boyfriend, who told police she went for a run on the Ma & Pa Trail in Bel Air, Maryland, but never returned home.

Morins body was discovered by a volunteer search party the following day, and investigators reported that her death was a homicide.

Authorities suspected that Morin was attacked on a bend in the hiking trail and then pulled into a hidden drainage culvert, where her remains were found, Harford County sheriffs Capt. Andy Lane said on Mondays episode of Into the Sheriffs Spotlight, a podcast hosted by Harford County Sheriff Jeff Gahler.

Lane said he thought the killer stalked Morin and waited to attack her, but he did not think she was targeted. Authorities believe the killer was in the Bel Air area in the days before Morins death. 

Authorities later announced that DNA found at the crime scene in Maryland matched an unidentified male suspected in a March 26, 2023, home invasion in Los Angeles.

Lane told Into the Sheriffs Spotlight that law enforcement got the DNA sample from a hat left behind in the Los Angeles home invasion.

The captain described the Los Angeles crime as a violent attack, adding, There were multiple people within that home who were injured, and there were minor children injured as well in that attack.

Morins mother, Patty Morin, told Baltimores WBAL-TV  she is determined to find her daughters killer.

I cant live with pain for the rest of my life, like, I cant do that. There has to be something to help us to move forward, she said. 

Hes just going to continue to do it because he thinks he can get away with it, and someone else is going to feel this pain that were feeling and it shouldnt be that way, Patty Morin said. 

In a statement shared with HuffPost, Morins family said the sketch is offering them hope that an arrest in imminent.

We are so thankful and encouraged that a sketch has developed for Rachels killer, Patty Morin said in the statement. This is a significant step forward in our pursuit of justice, and we are hopeful that it will lead to the identification and apprehension of the man who took Rachel away from us. 

On Monday, when detectives  released  the sketch, they said theyve conducted more than 100 interviews and followed up on more than 1,000 tips. Harford deputies said the investigation has taken them to seven states and has been aided by several federal, state and local agencies.

This investigation has not slowed or stalled, the sheriffs office said in its news release.