Rachel Morin: Former Partner Scours Woods For Clues, Hunts For Killer In Bel Air

BEL AIR, MD — While the investigation into the homicide of Bel Air mother of five Rachel Morin has taken officials across the country, the father of Morin's oldest daughter has been searching for overlooked clues close to home, canvassing neighborhoods and trekking through the woods around the Ma and Pa Trail where Morin's body was found.

Matt McMahon, father of Morin's 18-year-old daughter, Faye, told Patch the Harford County Sheriff's Office still has three detectives dedicated to the case. No arrests have been made yet in the brutal slaying of Morin, 37.

"They still have quite a lot of information to sort through and leads to follow. Faye and I have complete faith in their work and believe they will identify and apprehend the suspect," McMahon told Patch.

In the meantime, McMahon continues to comb the neighborhood adjacent to the Ma and Pa Trail near where Rachel Morin's body was found in August 2023. He teamed up with former FBI profiler Tim Pappa to create two videos that Faye and her father hope will spark a recollection or generate a new clue that will help investigators. (See videos below.)

McMahon is also handing out flyers in an effort to drum up clues or valuable information.

"I have received some tips that I've relayed to the sheriff's office. I'm taking notes about what I see. I feel like answers can be found in this community, so for the next few weeks, I'm going to just keep walking the streets and keep working it," McMahon said.

"In this video, I walk in the area of the woods the suspect was lurking in prior to attacking Rachel. I discuss how the suspect was wearing boots, jeans and a hoodie, and moved in an easterly direction after the attack. That's why I'm canvassing the neighborhood between Williams Street, Baltimore Pike and Route 24. A killer will typically have an anchor point within half a mile of an attack location, so since he moved in that direction, I believe he was staying in one of those homes," McMahon told Patch.

In one video, McMahon shares how he walks through the woods where the Ma and Pa Trail runs, exploring other paths and trying to see the locale through the eyes of the killer.

"I'm not ever going to understand his mind, and I don't want to understand his mind. But if I can just see things the way he was seeing them, I'm hoping I'll get some insight," McMahon said. "These trails I've been following, I feel like he was likely walking on these either the day he killed Rachel or when he was in the planning phase. He knew the tunnel location and had been lurking in these woods watching women run by."

McMahon pointed out a footbridge with railings that's 60 seconds away from the location of Rachel Morin's brutal attack. A dirt path nearby that runs parallel to the Ma and Pa Trail's main route gives an open view of runners and trail users, plus it leads back up the hill to an adjacent neighborhood that McMahon has been targeting.

"Unfortunately, on Aug. 5, shortly after 7 o'clock, the suspect was in these woods wearing work boots, jeans, hoodies and sunglasses and saw Rachel and decided he had an opportunity. There was no one else on the trail. So he attacked Rachel and quickly brought her back up the trail to the tunnel and killed her. He would've had privacy in this area with all the vegetation," McMahon said.

Related:

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• Rachel Morin Case: 'We Haven't Given Up Hope' Sheriff Says Of Manhunt
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In one of the videos, McMahon points to where the suspect likely killed Morin, identified where the suspect probably was hiding and showed the path he took to escape.

"There's a place he was calling home in that neighborhood," McMahon said.

Anyone with information about Morin's killing is asked to call the Harford County Sheriff's Office at 410-836-7788 or email a tip to investigators at [email protected]. A $35,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction is still being offered.

Related:

• Rachel Morin Family Asks For Worldwide Prayers For Justice
• Digital Ad Campaign Launched To Help Find Rachel Morin's Killer
• Profiler Helping With Rachel Morin Case, No Suspect Arrested Yet
• Rachel Morin's Family Mourns Loss Of 'Bright, Beautiful Spark'
• Rachel Morin Killer Might Strike Again, $10K Reward Offered: Sheriff
• Rachel Morin Reward Fund Rises As Homicide Suspect Remains At Large
• Suspect Sketch, New Details Released In Rachel Morin Homicide
• Women Attacked On Park Trails In Howard, Frederick Counties: Police
• 5 Potential Witnesses Contacted In Mom Rachel Morin's Death: Sheriff
• Photos, Videos Sought From Site Where Rachel Morin's Body Was Found

Sketches courtesy of the Harford County Sheriff's Office

Anyone with information about Rachel Morin's killing is asked to call the Harford County Sheriff's Office at 410-836-7788 or email a tip to investigators at [email protected]. A $35,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction is still being offered.