Rachel Morin left her home in Bel Air, Maryland, at around 6pm on Saturday 5 August, and headed to a popular hiking trail just outside of town.

When the mother-of-five failed to return that night, her new boyfriend Richard Tobin called police at about 11pm to report her missing, according to Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler.

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 Sunday, a member of the public called 911 to report finding a woman’s body near the trail.

Sheriff Gahler said at a press conference on Sunday night that a homicide investigation was underway as they awaited formal identification and cause of death from the medical examiner’s office.

Evidence retrieved from the crime scene strongly pointed towards foul play, he said.

Before police confirmed the identity, Ms Morin’s sister Rebekah Morin confirmed that the family had been informed of her “heartbreaking” death on a GoFundme page.

“This was not an (accidental) death, and she did not go willingly and she deserves a funeral worthy of her beauty,” Rebekah Morin wrote on the page to raise money for her burial and provide for her five young children.

On Sunday night, Mr Tobin took to Facebook to express his innocence, apparently after being the target of online speculation.

“I love Rachel, I would never do anything to her, let the family and I grieve. Yes I have a past but I also have 15 months clean and have changed as a person. Please,” he wrote.

Mr Tobin has not been named as a suspect, or accused of any wrongdoing in connection with Ms Morin’s death by law enforcement.

What we know

On Sunday morning, law enforcement officials in Maryland issued an urgent plea for information about Ms Morin’s whereabouts.

The Harford County Sheriff’s Office said Ms Morin was last seen at around 6pm on Saturday leaving to walk on the Ma and Pa Trail.

She was described as 5’2 (1.57m), 107 pounds (48kgs), with blonde hair and blue eyes. Ms Morin had been wearing a blue or black tank top, black sports bra, black spandex shorts, and gray sneakers when she was last sighted.

Mr Tobin informed authorities that his girlfriend’s car was at a parking lot at the Williams St trailhead. Authorities recovered the vehicle on Sunday morning, and it is being processed for evidence, the sheriff’s department said.

The grim news that a body had been discovered by a member of the public near the trail followed a few hours later.

Sheriff Gahler said at a press conference that authorities “firmly believe” the body is Ms Morin, but were awaiting official confirmation from the medical examiner’s office.

“I’m not going to go into what, physically, they observed at the scene. But investigators believe sadly that it’s a homicide case,” Sheriff Gahler said, adding that investigators”strongly believed” the body was Mr Morin.

“Right now, detectives continue to work the case as aggressively as they possibly can, and we will leave no stone unturned,” Sheriff Gahler said.

Crime scene tape and police cruisers were seen for about half a mile into the Ma and Pa Trail on Sunday, according to WBAL TV.

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.

“Thankfully we don’t have too much violent crime in Harford County, but when we have one, I prefer when I can stand here and tell you that the suspect has been arrested or that it’s a targeted crime.

“I can’t tell you that is the case,” he said.

Sheriff Gahler urged people not to wear headphones while out on the trail so they can be aware of their surroundings, carry a whistle or alert device, go for walks or runs with friends or family members, and let family members know where they are.

“If you see something that feels suspicious, take out your phone and call 911,” he said.

Sheriff Gahler also pleaded for the public to report any piece of information, regardless of how insignificant it might seem.

Who is Rachel Morin?

Ms Morin was originally from Dover, New Hampshire, and was a long-term resident of Bel Air. She was one of five siblings.

Her sister Rebekah, herself a mother of seven children, revealed on a GoFundMe page that the family had been grieving the death of their niece Lily Beth to sudden infant death syndrome just a week earlier.

“It is with devastating sadness and a broken heart that our family has been hit with yet another heartbreak. 

“My sister, Rachel Morin went missing on Saturday August 5 2023 around 6pm. In less then 24 hours her body was found by local law enforcement. It has only been a week since my niece Lily Beth passed away from SIDS, and I find that I have to make yet another gofundme to help my mother, Patty Morin with funeral costs.”

Rebekah confirmed that her sister did not have life insurance, and appealed for financial assistance to provide for her five surviving children.

In an update, Rebekah asked for anyone with information to notify law enforcement to “get justice for my sister, her children, her mother and all her siblings”.

On social media, Rachel Morin posted touching photos with her children, selfies at the gym and spending time with friends.

“Rachel was so unabashedly herself: witty and genuine, brilliant, daring, and headstrong. Her spirit would light up the room and her smile was contagious,” her best friend Claudia Brown wrote in a Facebook post after her death.

“Her faith was so strong,”

Ms Brown wrote that Ms Morin had been divorced, and was a “fierce protector of her children and loved them with all of her heart”.

Ms Morin had worked as a model, and appeared on the cover of Owl Magazine, Harford Community College’s student publication, where her brother John Morin worked as a technical director.

In 2018, she shared photographs from a trip to New Zealand to visit John, who was working as a photographer in the town of Whakatane.

In a post in February, Ms Morin shared a foreboding quote to her Facebook page: “Risk can be dangerous, but routine can be deadly. Comfort has killed more dreams than daring ever did.”

Ms Morin also started her own cleaning business, East Coast Cleaners, in 2019, according to Open Corporates.

On 1 August, Ms Morin and Mr Tobin shared news of their relationship on Facebook.

“Only started taking pics few weeks ago.. but these are a few of my favorites. From the beach to the mountains,” she wrote along with photos of the couple.

On Sunday evening, Mr Tobin took to social media to state his innocence while also making reference to his lengthy criminal rap sheet.

Court records show Mr Tobin has two arrests for second-degree assault, and separate arrests for violating restraining orders, malicious destruction of property and drug possession dating back to 2014

Mr Tobin has also faced charges of being a fugitive from justice, resisting arrest and disorderly intoxication, according to Maryland judiciary case search records.

Authorities have not released any information about potential suspects, nor linked Mr Tobin in any way to the homicide inquiry.

The Independent has attempted to reach Mr Tobin, but a publicly listed cellphone number went straight to voicemail on Monday.

What is The Ma and Pa Trail?

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.

The track was dismantled in the 1950s, and later turned 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.

In the wake of Ms Morin’s death, authorities have warned hikers to take particular care and be aware of their surroundings.