Officials suspect Rachel Morin died in 'violent homicide' after she went missing on Maryland trail

Three days after a Maryland woman’s body was found near a trail where she went missing, authorities said Rachel Morin was a “victim of a violent homicide.”

“This was an intentional taking of a person’s life,” Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler said in a video posted on the sheriff’s office Facebook Wednesday. 

Gahler said there are 10 investigators working on the case after Morin’s body was found Sunday near the Ma and Pa Trail in Bel Air, Maryland. He said they have received more than 100 tips from the community.

"Together we will solve this crime and find the heinous coward who took Rachel Morin from her family and friends," Gahler said.

Morin, 37, was reported missing Saturday around 11:20 p.m. after her boyfriend said she failed to return from her walk. She was last seen around 6 p.m. on the trail. Her vehicle also was found near the trail, the sheriff’s office said.

Gahler said authorities have interviewed the boyfriend and other people who are close to Morin.

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Increased police presence at Maryland Trail

Gahler said there will be more deputies on the trail, including some on foot, on bikes and in vehicles in an effort “to keep everyone safe.”

An off-road vehicle will also be parked at each end of the trail, he added.

“I also know many of you are nervous to spend time on the trail, concerned that there might be someone in our midst preying on women,” Gahler said. “I understand your fears.”