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A body has been found along a Maryland nature trail amid the search for a 37-year-old mother of five who went missing Saturday, authorities said.
The remains were found by a passerby on Sunday afternoon along the Ma and Pa Trail in the town of Bel Air in Maryland hours after investigators launched a massive search to locate Rachel Morin, according to the Harford County Sheriff’s Office.
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Authorities are awaiting to confirm the identify of the body found, pending an autopsy. A positive identification has not been released by the medical examiner as of Monday morning, nor has a cause and manner of death been determined yet, the Harford County Sheriff’s Office told Oxygen.com.
Officials are currently treating the case as a homicide investigation.
Morin vanished on Saturday, a day before the body was found, when she entered the nature trail around 6 p.m. to exercise, police said. Her family and her boyfriend reported Morin missing after she didn’t return home. Search efforts for Morin had been described as “very active” at the time her remains were found, according to Fox News.
Rachel Morin Photo: Rachel Morin/Facebook
“The investigation went from a missing persons investigation to a homicide investigation,” Hartford County Sheriff Jeff Gahler said at a press conference on Sunday.
“We understand that this is going to cause a lot of concern,” Gahler added. “We ask everyone to use good judgment on the trail — and not just on the trail but in everyday life — but always be aware of your surroundings.”
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On Sunday morning, Morin’s car was located by law enforcement at the Williams St. entrance to the nature trail in Bel Air. The vehicle is currently being processed by forensic experts. The trail is currently closed to accommodate investigative efforts but is expected to reopen in the coming days.
No arrests have been made in the case, the sheriff’s office told Oxygen.com, nor has a suspect been named.
Following the grisly discovery, Morin’s boyfriend, Richard Tobin, denounced his girlfriend’s murder on social media and denied any involvement in her death. Days earlier, he’d announced their relationship on social media.
“I love Rachel, I would never do anything to her, let the family and I grieve,” Tobin wrote Sunday in the comments section of his earlier August 1 post announcing the pair were in a relationship. “Yes I have a past but I also have 15 months clean and have changed as a person. Please.”
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Tobin has a number of past arrests on charges including criminal second-degree assault, malicious destruction of property, resisting arrest, drug possession, intoxication, and violating restraining orders, court records obtained by Oxygen.com show.
Morin was described by authorities as standing five-feet and two inches, with blonde hair and blue eyes. She weighed approximately 107 pounds and was wearing a blue or black tank top, a black sports bra, black spandex shorts and grey sneakers at the time of her disappearance. She is the mother to five children, according to People.
Anyone with additional information pertaining to the case is urged to contact the Harford County Sheriff’s Office at 410-836-5430.
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