Investigators are “working around the clock” to solve the killing of Rachel Morin of Bel Air, Harford County Sheriff Jeff Gahler said in a video update on the case Tuesday afternoon.
In the video, which was posted to the Harford County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page, Gahler said that 10 investigators with his Criminal Investigations Division, along with forensic investigators and crime analysts are “putting together pieces of a comprehensive timeline,” in the days, weeks and months leading up to Morin’s death.
Morin, a 37-year-old mother of five, was reported missing last Saturday after going for a walk on the Williams Street trailhead of the Ma & Pa Trail in Bel Air. Her body was found Sunday on the trail about a mile in.
On Tuesday, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore confirmed Morin’s identity.
“This was an intentional taking of a person’s life,” Gahler said.
Since Saturday, more than 2 million people have been reached from the posts on the sheriff’s office Facebook page about Morin, Gahler said, and more than 100 tips have come in from the public.
“Some have been promising and tremendous in advancing the investigation and bringing us closer to getting the answers that we need, the answers that Rachel’s family needs, and the answers that our community needs,” Gahler said. “Each tip helps bring the picture into focus. … Together, we will solve this crime.”
While Gahler said he could not provide further details into the case in order to preserve the investigation, he did confirm that Morin’s boyfriend, whom he did not name, along with people in Morin’s inner circle, have been interviewed by investigators.
A man named Richard Tobin posted a relationship status update on his Facebook page on Aug. 1, stating that he was in a relationship with Morin. A flood of comments and reposts have have followed since Saturday, many pointing to Tobin as the key suspect in Morin’s death, but Gahler did not provide any information on possible suspects.
Gahler acknowledged that residents have expressed their concerns over safety in walking the county’s trails, which, he said, he understood as a husband and father of two daughters. Gahler and his family live in Forest Hill.
He said there will be “a heavy presence” of deputies on the Williams trail who will patrol on foot, by bike and on all-terrain vehicles. The Harford County Sheriff’s Foundation made a $20,000 donation on Tuesday to purchase a second offroad utility vehicle to patrol the other end of the trail, he said.
Jessica Boyle-Tsottles, the only woman on the Harford County Council, organized a “Woman’s Walk” Tuesday evening on the same trail.
“I’ve had moms who usually drop their kids off at school and then go walk on the trail tell me that they’re afraid to go walking after this,” Boyle-Tsottles said by phone Tuesday afternoon. “We want the community to take back our power and show that we’re not afraid, and that this is our community.”
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The flyer Boyle-Tsottles posted Monday on social media for the walk said that the gathering was in memory of Morin. However, Rachel Morin’s sister, Rebekah, replied to the post, saying that her family had not been contacted and would not be involved.
Boyle-Tsottles posted a new flyer — without Morin’s name — on Tuesday.
“I know family, friends, myself, who walk this trail alone and we shouldn’t have to be fearful,” Boyle-Tsottles told the gathering before the walk began around 6:30 p.m. “My intention was to bring the community together, unite everyone and just be here for each other’s support. We live in a great county, and will continue to live in a great county.”
About 100 people, led by Boyle-Tsottles and her family, walked the winding trail in the woods, with sheriff’s deputies patrolling the path on all-terrain vehicles. The group crossed a wooden bridge called Heavenly Waters Bridge over a stream and went up a hill part way before turning around and returning to the entrance.
Regina Brown, 73, walks that portion of the trail regularly and said she came out to the event “to support the trail.” She said she was headed for a walk Sunday morning on the trail when her brother-in-law called.
“He told my husband, ‘Tell her not to go out walking,’ because he’d heard the news [about Morin],” Brown said. “I’d never been afraid to walk the trail until then, but after the news, my husband told me that every day I’d left the house to walk the trail, he worried about my safety.”
Brown said she returned Tuesday morning for a walk. “They added all this police protection on the trail so I came back,” Brown said, “and it was nice because they had the all-terrain vehicles. You just felt safer.”
County Council member Aaron Penman, a former sergeant with the Harford County Sheriff’s Office, said patrolling the county’s trails were part of his duties his last six years on the job before retiring in October 2022.
“We want to make sure people feel safe walking the trail,” Penman said during the walk. “I’m confident that the sheriff’s office and other allied agencies will solve this crime but in the meantime, our community needs to feel safe and this is a way to show our support in a united front to let people know that we do live in a safe community.”
Penman said he does not recall a similar incident occurring on the trail during his 24 years with the sheriff’s office.
“It’s a tragic incident, but it’s an isolated incident,” Penman said. “I mourn for the family and my heart goes out to them.”
Detectives are asking for the public’s help. Anyone who was on the Ma & Pa Trail or near the trail or trail heads on Saturday or Sunday, and took photos or video, is asked to send them to Sgt. Maddox at [email protected].
A GoFundMe has been set up by Rebekah Morin to cover funeral costs and to take care of Rachel Morin’s five children. As of Wednesday, $40,000 of the $65,000 goal had been raised.
