(BEL AIR, Md.) — Six months after Rachel Morin was killed by an unknown assailant on a nature trail, Maryland authorities have released a sketch of the suspect in an effort to breathe new life into the unsolved crime.
The mother of five left for a run on the Ma & Pa Heritage Trail in Bel Air, Maryland, last August — and never came home.
The Harford County Sherif’s Office said it has conducted over 100 interviews in the last six months and followed up on over 1,000 tips. Along with the new sketch released Monday, law enforcement recorded a podcast going over what is known about the case.
Morin was reported missing by her boyfriend on Aug. 5, 2023, after she didn’t return from her run.
Morin’s car was found at the trailhead of the Ma & Pa Heritage Trail in the hours after she was reported missing and her body was found the following morning on Aug. 6, the sheriff’s ofice said.
Investigators believe Morin was attacked on the trail and pulled through a wooded area before being killed in a drainage culvert that runs alongside the trail, according to Harford County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Andy Lane, who is leading the investigation into Morin’s death.
It is not clear whether Morin was specifically targeted or if the killer chose the location and Morin was the unfortunate victim who showed up there, Lane said in the podcast.
As they were processing the scene of the murder, law enforcement was able to identify genetic material that they used to attempt to identify the suspect, police said 12 days after Morin was reported missing. When they entered the evidence into a national database, it was linked to a home invasion in Los Angeles, where a suspect’s DNA had been found, according to the sheriff’s office.
At the same time as the DNA evidence was announced, the Harford County Sheriff’s Office released the biggest update in the case: surveillance video from the home invasion and assault of a young girl in LA.
The DNA evidence has not been linked to a suspect’s name, but they were able to determine that he is of Hispanic descent.
In putting together the sketch, investigators relied on witnesses in Maryland and from the family whose house was invaded in addition to looking at video footage of the suspect outside the California home, Lane said.
Rice, Murtha, Psoras, the law firm representing Morin’s family, announced earlier this month that the reward for any information leading to an arrest and conviction had increased to $35,000 thanks to a $5,000 donation from a true crime podcast that documented the case.
“Remember Rachel, remember the area she was in … if anyone remembers anything moving forward … those small details can be the details that break the case open,” said Lane.
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