A tragic incident unfolded on Saturday when a 37-year-old woman from Maryland went missing while hiking on the Ma and Pa Trail in Bel Air.
Local authorities have now confirmed that the woman, identified as Rachel Morin, was found dead on the trail on Sunday. Her death is being treated as a homicide.
The Hartford County Sheriff's Office was alerted to Morin's disappearance by her boyfriend, who reported her missing at 11:23 p.m. on Saturday. According to reports, Morin had set out for her hike around 6 p.m. that evening. Investigators subsequently located her vehicle at the entrance to the trail.
On Sunday afternoon, at approximately 1:07 p.m., investigators received a report of a female body discovered off the trail where Morin was believed to have been hiking. While Sheriff Jeff Gahler announced at a press conference that he believes the deceased woman is Rachel Morin, the final determination will be made by the medical examiner.
"The investigation went from a missing person investigation to a homicide investigation," Sheriff Gahler stated. "While we firmly believe this is the body of Rachel Morin, that final determination belongs with the medical examiner and that has not happened yet."
The exact cause of Morin's death is still under investigation. Sheriff Gahler sadly confirmed that it is being treated as a homicide case. At this time, the department does not have a suspect and has acknowledged the potential threat to the community.
"We will leave no stone unturned," Sheriff Gahler assured the public, emphasizing the department's commitment to aggressively pursuing leads in the case. As a precautionary measure, there will be an increased police presence along the trail until a suspect is apprehended.
Meanwhile, Rachel Morin's sister, Rebekah Morin, took to social media to share the devastating news. She wrote, "As you may have heard from various places, my sister, Rachel Morin was found this early this afternoon. Please do not ask me for details; I can't talk about it right now."
A GoFundMe campaign has been launched by Rebekah Morin to support their grieving family. In the campaign description, she expressed profound sadness and a broken heart, revealing that Rachel's body was discovered less than 24 hours after she went missing. Tragically, the family had already experienced the loss of their niece, Lily Beth, to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) just a week prior.
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