Mother-of-five who was killed on Maryland hiking trail used ‘multiple dating apps’ before disappearing – as police warn locals to ‘pay attention’ because ‘someone could be there’
Mother-of-five Rachel Morin, who was found murdered on a Maryland hiking trail last weekend, used “multiple dating apps” before disappearing.
Morin, 37, disappeared around 6 p.m. last Saturday after leaving her home to go for a hike on the Ma and Pa Trail in Bel Air, Maryland.
On the afternoon of her death, Morin had stopped by a bronzing studio for her daily spray tan.
That said a source close to the salon The New York Post that all the employees there knew her and that just before her death she had told staff that she was on “several dating sites.”
Despite reportedly telling staff she was on dating sites, Morin had officially gone on social media with her new boyfriend Richard Tobin just days earlier.
In the afternoon prior to her disappearance, Morin, pictured here, is said to have told salon workers she was on dating sites despite having a boyfriend
Rachel Morin and Richard Tobin started dating “a few weeks ago.” The pair are shown on an earlier walk together
The post reported that after her trip to the salon, she headed to her local Planet Fitness gym before Tobin drove her home around 5 p.m.
Morin then took to the hiking trail and was last seen between 6 and 7:30 p.m.
After being reported missing, her lifeless body was discovered in a drain in a tunnel on the scenic trail.
Harford County Sheriff Jeff Gahler also shared it WBAL earlier this week that officers had no suspect yet.
He said, “We don’t have a solid suspect. Not knowing if this was a purposeful event specific to Rachel, we’re going to say, yeah, pay attention, think there could be someone out there.”
Local man Michael Gabriszeski had joined the search for Morin along with his stepdaughter Cecilia and her boyfriend Evan when he claimed to have found her remains on Sunday.
Speaking to DailyMail.com, Gabriszeski, a Native American tracker, said they decided to check two tunnels after noticing “breakdowns” on the ground close to the track.
He said, “Cecilia was the first person to see the body. She was hyperventilating really bad. And then the police told her to sit down.
“When she sat down, she realized she was in a large pool of blood. She was lying on her back, completely naked, and she had a brutal head trauma… it looked like her head had been smashed in with a rock.
“There was a 15 to 20 foot trail of blood. So it looked like she had been beaten and dragged into that position.”
“It seemed that (the killer) was trying to erase her identity. The right side of her face was gone.’
Michael Gabriszeski, had joined the search for Morin on the Ma & Pa trail in Bel Air, Maryland when he came across her remains on Sunday, he claims
Grabiszeski said he felt compelled to check out the drainage tunnels on the track after noticing ‘malfunctions’ on the ground near the circuit
The coroner has not yet revealed how Morin died, but a murder investigation has been launched. Her family says she didn’t go “voluntarily” and that her death was “not accidental.”
Morin was last seen leaving her home around 6 p.m. on Saturday to go for a walk on the Ma and Pa Trail
A separate source close to the family had previously told DailyMail.com that the young mother suffered severe head trauma.
“The injuries were so horrific that there won’t be an open coffin (at her funeral),” the source said.
In an open letter shared on Facebook by her daughter Rebekah, Patricia Morin spoke about how her family is trying to cope with her daughter’s death.
She wrote: “We are sad. As a family, we need time and space to grieve. We have not forgotten our community.’
“We just need time… I need time. It’s only been 4 days since we received the terrible news.
“I ask you as mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters to have compassion on us and allow us to do this.”
Morin’s new boyfriend, who has a criminal past, took to social media on Sunday to insist he had nothing to do with her murder
It’s unclear who she was walking with, but her new boyfriend Richard Tobin, 27, has reported her missing.
The coroner has not yet revealed how Morin died, but a murder investigation has been launched.
Her family says she didn’t go “voluntarily” and that her death was “not accidental.”
It comes after her new boyfriend took to social media on Sunday to insist he had nothing to do with her murder despite his criminal past.
The couple had only made their relationship official on social media four days earlier.
During the investigation, local residents were seen participating in a community walk along the Ma and Pa Trail, Bel Air, on Tuesday
He said, “I love Rachel. I would never hurt her, let the family and I grieve. Yes, I have a past but I’ve also been clean for 15 months and have changed as a person. Please.’
Tobin has been arrested 14 times since 2014 on various charges, including drug trafficking, assault, disorderly conduct, and refusal of arrest.
His lengthy criminal record includes two arrests for second-degree assault, violating restraining orders, drug possession and willful destruction of property.
Tobin also has a number of traffic violations, a felony fugitive, resisting arrest and disorderly drunkenness and conduct marks on his criminal record, documents show.