Rachel Morin suspect will strike again if not caught, police say

(NewsNation) — Investigators in Maryland have issued a dire warning about the suspect in the Rachel Morin killing, saying he’ll strike again if not caught soon.

Nearly three weeks ago, the Maryland mother of five’s body was found along a nature trail. DNA taken from the scene has since been linked to a suspect in a Los Angeles home invasion; that suspect is still on the run.

Now, Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler is urging people to come forward and help identify him.

“Somebody out there knows who he is off of what we’ve been able to release, and we need that person to come forward and help us get this monster off the street,” Gahler told NewsNation host Dan Abrams on Wednesday night.

Maryland State Police analyzed DNA left behind at the Bel Air, Maryland, crime scene and ran it through the CODIS database. The DNA returned as a match for a man suspected of invading a Los Angeles home and attacking a young girl in March. Investigators are confident this is the same person who killed Morin.

The sheriff’s office released security footage last week from the Los Angeles home invasion showing the suspect leaving a home. Authorities currently do not have a name or location for him. They described the suspect as a Hispanic male in his 20s, standing 5 feet, 9 inches tall and weighing about 160 pounds.

“This guy has no regard for human life, for the value of human life, and he will reoffend if he’s not apprehended,” Gahler told Abrams.

Morin, 37, was last seen alive Aug. 5, when she went for a walk on a Bel Air nature trail. Her car was spotted at the entrance of the trail, but she was nowhere to be found at the time. Her boyfriend ended up reporting her missing, sparking the search.

The next day, the sheriff’s office announced that the missing persons case for Morin had escalated into a homicide investigation after a volunteer searcher located her body along the Ma and Pa trail.

Without revealing details of the crime scene where her body was discovered, the sheriff’s office has confirmed Morin died from a “violent attack.”

Gahler says his office has received around 350 tips so far, but they’re waiting on the piece of information that will lead them to the suspect.

“Somebody out there knows who he is and that tip has not come through to us yet,” Gahler said.

Anyone with information on the case is urged to call 410-836-7788.