Going West: True Crime - Rachel Morin // 406

Episode Date: May 17, 2024

In August of 2023, a 37-year-old woman headed out for a beautiful summer hike two hours before sunset. When darkness fell upon the day and she hadn’t returned home, her boyfriend discovered her car still at the trailhead late in the night, prompting him to call police and report her missing. When her body was found the following day, she and the scene were processed, quickly leading investigators to link foreign DNA on her body to another crime that was committed across the country. This is the story of Rachel Morin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What is going on true crime fans? I'm your host, T and I'm your host Daphne and you're listening to going west. Hello everybody. Today's case was recommended by a lot of you. So many of you guys. Yeah. So thank you to Donna, Kenya, Samantha, Julie, Elizabeth, Carissa, Sarah and Mary. I'm sure we got some social media recommendations too, but we only check email. So thank you everybody just in general for recommending this one. Yeah. And if you do want to send a recommendation,

you can send it over to our email, which is goingwestpodcast at gmail.com. That is where we will see it. So Rachel's story is extremely devastating, and it just happened last year, so please do not forget to share this one. Screenshot the episode for your socials or share our post with Rachel's photo and her information

because things are going to get very mysterious and very dark in this story. And also, there is a potential connection to other crimes. So please, please share. Yeah, and there is a crazy video associated with this story. So we'll tell you guys when to check our socials on that one later. But for now, let's dive in. All right, guys.

This is episode 406 of Going West so let's get into it. In August of 2023, a 37-year-old woman headed out for a beautiful summer hike two hours before sunset. When darkness fell upon the day and she hadn't returned home, her boyfriend discovered her car still at the trailhead late in the night, prompting him to call police and report her missing. When her body was found the following day, she and the scene were processed, quickly leading investigators to link foreign DNA on her body to another crime that was committed across the country months earlier.

This is the story of Rachel Morin. Rachel Hannah Morin was born on May 20, 1986 in Dover, New Hampshire to parents Patty and Ronald, or Zach, Moran, and she has many siblings, including her sister Rebecca and brothers Nathan, Michael, John, and Josiah. Rachel's family is described as very tight-knit and rooted in faith as Rachel's mother Patty worked as a church administrator. Growing up, Rachel and her siblings were homeschooled so they spent a lot of time around each other and were very close especially during the holidays. That is something they all really loved. Patty said quote, Rachel loved the holidays in our house. It was one of the

best seasons of the year. Holidays started when school started basically. The children were already planning for birthdays. We had six in a two-week span, making their costumes for harvest parties, making decorations for Thanksgiving, and we always made gifts for each other for birthdays, Christmas, any holiday, or just because I love you gifts. A tradition we started when the children were toddlers. We wanted them to know it's not the money spent, but the time and thought invested into the gifts that were made that showed the love and thoughts we had for one another. The child receiving the gift felt loved and the child who made the gift felt appreciated.

A tradition that 40 years later is still practiced and has been passed down. So yeah, very loving, wonderful family here. Patty also described her daughter Rachel growing up as very sensitive and insecure because she struggled most of her life with a stutter, but it made Rachel more compassionate as a human because she sadly dealt with bullies as a child. As she got older, Rachel was also described as the life of the party who had a way of making people laugh. Her obituary says quote, Rachel was best described as faith-filled, loving, and adventurous. She lived her life with an infectious zest, spreading joy and love wherever she went. Her life was a

testament to the power of faith, love, and the human spirit. Rachel's spirit will live on through her family and the countless lives she's touched. Her best friend Claudia said of Rachel, quote, Rachel was so unabashedly herself, witty and genuine, brilliant, daring, and headstrong. Her spirit would light up the room and her smile was contagious. So at some point during Rachel's childhood, her mother Patty moved herself and her kids to the quaint, small town of Bel Air, Maryland. Bel Air is located about 32 miles northeast of Baltimore and it's about a 45 minute drive,

and it hosts just around 10,000 people. And the entire town is only 3.3 square miles, but it's very charming with the historic downtown and community parks, and it's surrounded charming with the historic downtown and community parks, and it's surrounded by a lot of natural beauty, including hiking trails, which is a big topic of today's episode. It was in Bel-Air that Rachel spent most of her life, with her family living there for about 20 years. And there, Rachel's upbringing was pretty much what you'd expect, with her childhood

friend stating, quote, I spent so many nights sleeping over you'd expect, with her childhood friends stating quote, I spent so many nights sleeping over at your house and so many afternoons between church together and you were one of the few people that slept over at my house and for a whole week even. There's so much I remember, fashion shows, trying to sell drawings to make money, having yard sales at your house, endless sleepovers with tons of candy and soda, and trying to stay up all night, and so much more. When Rachel was a teenager, she met a guy named Matt McMahon,

and they developed a liking for each other very quickly. Then, a short while later, when Rachel was 19, she became pregnant and gave birth to the couple's first and only child, a daughter named Faye. But the complications of being young parents took a huge toll on Rachel and Matt's relationship, and ultimately they decided to part ways. But Rachel would go on to date throughout her 20s and 30s, and during those years, she added four more children to her family, Octavia, Lila, Declan, and Violet, with two different men. By all accounts, Rachel's entire life revolved around her kids, and she was described as

an extremely devoted mother. A friend of the family later said, quote, She raised them very well. She had a flexible work schedule that allowed her to make sure her kids were always taken care of. When this story takes place in 2023, her kids' ages ranged from 8 to 18 years old, and 37-year-old Rachel was working full-time operating a house cleaning service right there in Bel Air, called East Coast Cleaners that she started a few years prior in 2019. And Rachel had seemingly kind of given up on the dating world for a while, just focusing more on her children and her business, but she would occasionally

browse dating apps. And eventually, she connected with a man 10 years her junior named Richard John Tobin. After dating for a while, they officially became boyfriend-girl girlfriend on August 1st, 2023 when Rachel again was 37 and Richard was 27. But Rachel was really excited about him because she and Richard had a lot in common and had been really enjoying their time together. They both shared a passion for fitness, they ran a 5k marathon together, and hit the gym every week.

So everything seemed perfect, but some people in her life were concerned about Richard's prior run-ins with the law, in which he had racked up charges that included criminal second-degree assault, violating restraining orders, drug possession, malicious destruction of property, traffic violations, resisting arrest, and drunken disorderly. But apparently by the time he had met Rachel, Richard had turned his life around and held a steady job working as an electrician's apprentice in the area. So again, everything seemed to be smooth sailing and Rachel seemed really happy in life. On Saturday, August 5th, 2023, Rachel spent the day taking some time for herself.

At 2pm, she headed over to her favorite tanning salon, a place in Bel Air called Glow. Then after her tanning session, she met up with her very new boyfriend, Richard, and the two spent a few hours together. The next part of the day is a little bit conflicting, because some reports state that Richard dropped Rachel off at home so that he could go to the gym, and other reports state that Richard and Rachel attended the gym together. This is such an Elle Woods moment, but I doubt she went to the gym after the tanning salon. Even if she used a tanning bed, it's just recommended to tan after working out.

Also, gym tan laundry, but I don't think this part's really relevant anyway. I love that you brought that up, though. Legally Blonde, right? Yeah. Nice. So if she did go home instead of the gym, we're not sure what she did for four hours, but at 6 p.m. that evening, Rachel left her home on Old Emerton Road and drove herself to a local trailhead

called the Ma and Pa Heritage Trail located on the edge of town and this is how the trail is described on MappaTrail.org. Quote, the Ma and Pa Heritage Trail is located on portions of the former Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad Corridor in Bel Air and Forest Hill Maryland. Our nonprofit organization the Ma and Pa Heritage Trail Inc. strives organization, the Ma and Pa Heritage Trail Inc, strives to make the Ma and Pa Trail the best place to walk, run, and ride a bike in Harford County. Currently the trail consists of a 3.3 mile section in Bel Air and a 1.7 mile segment in Forest Hill. Recently in partnership with

the town of Bel Air, Harford County has acquired an easement for a small stretch of land that will finally allow for the connection of its Bel Air and Forest Hill sections. The eventual connection will result in a nearly 8-mile long trail that runs through the heart of Bel Air. This trail is a very popular spot for locals with a gorgeous winding wooden bridge and a bunch of natural beauty. And it also happened to be very familiar to Rachel. Her mom, Patti, said that Rachel had spent a lot of time on this trail as a child, like during family outings.

But she was concerned when she found out that Rachel would walk the trail alone. Patti said, quote, She loved people and was outgoing, so that made me scared for her. I would tell her all the time, Rachel, don't walk the trail by herself. So her mom's worried that she could potentially talk to the wrong person or the wrong person could be on the trail. But there are so many other things can happen. Like I am constantly telling this to my mom, who always hikes alone, because one time she even tripped over a rock

and broke her arm and she was alone. And she was like a mile away from her car and there was nobody around. So whether it be for just general safety in this way, or like I'm saying, safety from strangers on the trail, Rachel's mom just didn't like when she went hiking by herself, even though it was much more practical to do so as we know you can't always

have a hiking buddy so on this particular day Rachel did just that she went hiking alone but keep in mind this is a beautiful Saturday in August so it's believed that there were other people out enjoying this trail at the same time however there are wooded areas on either side of the pathway, which you'll see in photos on our socials, so there are a lot of spots that a person could conceal themselves pretty easily if they wanted to. So a few hours after Rachel set off on the Ma and Pa trail, the sunlight started to fade for the day and people close to Rachel began to grow concerned. Typically when Rachel would go hike this trail, she would only be gone for about an hour or

so. So this day she went at six o'clock meaning she should have been back around seven, which was roughly an hour before sunset. So once multiple hours passed and it was dark outside, it was clear that something was wrong. At 11 23 PM that night, so about five hours after Rachel left for her hike, Harford County police received a call from Richard Tobin, explaining that his girlfriend had gone out for a run

on the Ma and Pa trail and never returned. Before making this call, Richard had made his way to the trailhead where he discovered Rachel's car, still sitting in the dark parking lot at the Williams Street entrance, which is really what prompted him to call police because it was clear that she had never finished her hike. And to describe where her car was a little bit better, the parking lot isn't in a rural area off the beaten path, but more so on the edge of town. Now from Google Maps we can see that there are apartment buildings just across from the

trailhead and right alongside the parking lot, as well as a brewery and some other small businesses. And we will post photos of this area on our socials so that you guys can get a visual of the scene. And also the trail is closed dawn to dusk. So yeah, there is no reason that she would still have been out there and no reason why her car would still be in that parking lot. So after looking for her in the dark and being unable to locate her, early the next morning, which was Sunday, Harford County Police asked the public for help in finding her.

They created a missing poster that listed Rachel as 5 foot 2 inches tall, weighing 107 pounds, with blonde hair and blue eyes, and last seen at 6pm on Saturday, August 5th, wearing a blue or black tank top, a black sports bra, black spandex shorts, and gray running shoes. Now, at this time, some of Rachel's family was in Kentucky because, sadly, her brother Nathan had tragically lost his four-month-old daughter to SIDS, or Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. And the funeral was that very same weekend that Rachel disappeared.

God, this poor family having to deal with all of this, especially at the same time? I mean, it's just incredibly devastating. Rachel unfortunately had to stay behind and work because she was short on funds. So the town of Bel Air really rallied together, forming volunteer groups to help aid in the search for Rachel Morin. Then, just after 1pm on Sunday, August 6th, a horrifying discovery was made. One of Rachel's friends, a man named Michael and his stepdaughter who are part of the volunteer group, decided to search a few drainage tunnels near the trail. And I want to say real quick that these drainage tunnels, they run kind of parallel to the

trail. So Michael said, quote, I kept telling them to search the tunnels because I had a feeling about those tunnels. I walked forward to search the one tunnel and they searched the other one and that's where they found her. There by the Maryland 24 bypass Michael's stepdaughter and her friend found the deceased body of 37 year old-old Rachel Morin. Michael, again who is Rachel's friend, explained that when Rachel's body was discovered, she was surrounded by a pool of blood and her face had been beaten so badly that she was unrecognizable.

Michael said, quote, she was laying on her back fully naked and she had brutal head trauma. It looked like her head had been smashed in with a rock. There was a 15 to 20 foot blood trail, so it looked like she had been beaten and dragged into that position. It looked like the killer was trying to erase her identity. The right side of her face was gone. So very disturbing details here and extremely devastating for anybody who knew and loved Rachel to have to know that this is what happened to her. Patty Morin stated, quote, It was very, very hard.

It's like living in this pit of this fear in your stomach and not being able to do anything about it because you're 500 miles away. Near Rachel's body there was also a blood covered rock that is surmised to have been the murder weapon in this case. It was very apparent to police that they were investigating a clear homicide and of course, the first person they needed to contact was one of the last people to see Rachel alive and the person who found her car, Richard Tobin. But he maintained his innocence and his story of that day, writing in a since-deleted Facebook comment, quote, I love Rachel. I would

never do anything to her. Let the family and I grieve. Yes, I have a past, but I also have 15 months clean and have changed as a person." Police kept Richard on their radar, but also asked the public who may have been on the trail that day and may have taken pictures to email them at maddoxc at harford sheriff dotorg. Sheriff Gaylor stated quote, investigators are confident based on what they observed at the scene, that this was not an accident and this was not self-inflicted. Think about how much time you spend at home. Does your home really make you feel great? If not, it's time to change it.

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Subject to credit approval. After the discovery of Rachel's body, an autopsy was conducted on August 7th that confirmed that the deceased woman was in fact Rachel Morin. But the details of the cause and manner of death have not been revealed to the public, and we think this is because it's an effort to protect the investigation. Rachel's car was also sent to Forest Hill, which is the town that shares part of the trail with Bel Air, in order to be processed and examined for potential evidence. When the announcement was made that Rachel was found murdered, her case began to garner a ton of media attention and online attention, hence why we got so many suggestions for this case, and tips really began to flood in to the Hartford investigators.

And one theory that was quickly posed by online sleuths was that Michael, the one who had this strange feeling about finding her body in the tunnel, was a potential suspect. In an interview, Michael claimed that he had a vision, or premonition if you will, before Rachel's body was discovered, that Rachel would be found in those tunnels. And a lot of people found this very suspicious. Especially since the police had been searching alongside volunteers in the area of the trail for hours, and Michael claims that he found her body within just one hour of searching So some felt like this was a little bit too convenient

But Michael also claimed that he had experience in these types of searches because he was previously a part of parks and recreation Search and rescue teams and that he just had a feeling and he turned out to be right here search and rescue teams and that he just had a feeling and he turned out to be right here. So it's weird on its head but everyone should honestly just be grateful that he looked there and found her when he did. So as police dug deeper into her life they uncovered the names of some of Rachel's exes and began investigating them to see if they could have reason to be involved. But detectives discovered that each one of them had solid alibis for the evening of Rachel's murder. So they were all ultimately ruled out. Like this was not a lover's quarrel gone bad.

Yeah. And I'm sure a lot of people that were looking, you know, at this case from the outside thought that there was a potential for an ex lover to be involved here. But as we're going to get into that just wasn't the case. Yeah, I mean, it makes sense, obviously, to look into that, but investigators quickly found out that was not it. And as Heath said, a bunch of tips were streaming in from all the attention that the case was getting and a collection of them seemed like good leads to begin with. But sadly, none of them led police any closer to discovering what happened to Rachel and who was responsible.

So it started feeling like justice for Rachel was kind of slipping away from them. That is, until August 17, 2023, 12 days after Rachel was killed, when investigators were hit with a complete bombshell of a lead. That day, it was confirmed that foreign DNA that was found on Rachel's body and collected by a forensic team and that was analyzed by a lab in Maryland was a match to a DNA profile that was stored in the FBI's CODIS system or the National DNA Database. The only problem was that the identity of that person was not known. So here's what happened.

Basically, on March 26th of 2023, a little over five months before Rachel's murder, a home invasion and sexual assault of a young girl, so a child, occurred in South Los Angeles, California, where the perpetrator left behind DNA that was collected and entered into CODIS. This very DNA was an exact match to the DNA that was later found on Rachel's body 2,600 miles away in Bel Air, Maryland, all the way across the country. But there's more. This disgusting monster was caught on home security footage exiting that South LA home in which he just burglarized and assaulted that young girl.

So detectives were in immediate contact with the LAPD to analyze the two cases as well as this doorbell footage. And it is just crazy that this unknown person is committing these horrific, vicious crimes across the country in multiple states. Like it just makes you wonder what else he's done because this can't be all of it. It doesn't feel like it's all of it, you know? If he's willing to do these two things in two different states, he absolutely could be responsible for a lot more.

And I want to try and describe this video a little bit more in case you can't go watch it on our socials right now, but if you can now, or when you can, we really encourage all of our listeners to please share it in hopes that somebody out there will recognize this guy Yeah, remember this killer and child abuser is at large and somebody has to know who he is So on this doorbell camera that's facing the street You can clearly see a shirtless man coming out of the front door

Which is located to the right of the camera's view of this South Los Angeles front door, which is located to the right of the camera's view, of this South Los Angeles residence, walking backwards out the door, so you can see the side of his upper body and head, and he's saying something, but sadly there is no audio for this doorbell camera video. And the person inside the home slamming the door shut behind him. Many assume that this was the girl that he assaulted slamming the door and then locking it, but this has not been confirmed. You then see him casually walk down the front steps of the porch and exit the camera view

to the right, passing through the front yard. When this man first exits the home, you can see a slight profile of his face before he turns his back to the camera, and then he leaves the property. Again, he's shirtless in this video, wearing a chain around his neck, and a pair of what look like blue sweatpants, but I've seen other people say that it looks like blue jeans. I don't really think it looks like blue jeans, but to each their own I guess. He has dark, short hair that's styled in a fade, with the lower half of his head completely shaved and he's also barefoot, carrying something under his arm that looks kind of like it might

be a jacket. And the tough part about this is the body parts that we can see in the up close portions of the video don't show any distinguishable tattoos or scars, but detectives describe the suspect as a quote, Hispanic male who was about 5'9", 160 pounds, believed to be between 20 and 25 years old with a muscular build. They created a wanted poster as well that shows screenshots from the home invasion as well as a composite sketch of the suspect with a hat on and also without a hat and we are going to share this poster on our socials as well

currently the reward for information leading up to an arrest is $35,000 it's really strange because yeah in the video there is like a thin arm inside with a long sleeve kind of over their hand closing the door or at least over there you know the the bottom of their palm And it looks like a young person's arm because of how kind of like small and thin it is and how their arm reaches to the middle of the door, like kind of telling us maybe they're a little bit shorter. But it's weird too, because it's like he's talking to them and saying something before casually leaving, like he didn't just break in and assault her. It's like almost's talking to them and saying something before casually leaving like he didn't just break in and assault her

It's like almost like a boyfriend leaving in the night. That's that's what I kind of Am feeling from what I'm seeing. Yeah, I totally agree with you. Yeah, it doesn't seem like he's in a hurry He's not running down the steps or anything like that and it seems like very casual For such a horrific thing to occur. Yeah, if you didn't know what this was, you wouldn't think that this guy just broke in at all. It doesn't give that energy. And it also makes me wonder if he knew that this camera was behind him, because the way that he backs up, he's not trying to necessarily conceal himself. He's just walking backwards out the door, but I think he's doing

that because he's talking to the person inside, not because he doesn't want the camera to see him, because he's not like hiding his face necessarily. Right, yeah. He's definitely not hiding from the doorbell camera. It looks as if, you know, he's just, unfortunately, he's just leaving that residence and Sadly, we didn't get a full picture of his face here Yeah, but he but you can see part of the side you can see his haircut very well So go check it out somebody must know who this guy is even though you can't see very much But clearly he takes care of himself enough to not look disheveled and to have this fresh haircut But no one has

been able to identify him yet. It's nuts. And police from Harford County did send detectives out to Los Angeles to speak with the victim of this assault, who again was a minor, but it's unclear at this moment exactly what happened, and there are very minimal details available about what exactly occurred. We obviously see the perpetrator leaving through the front door, but since there isn't video footage of him entering the front door, it kind of leads us to believe that he may have gained access to the home through a window or possibly a back door.

And sadly the victim was not able to ID the suspect in this case, meaning that the victim did not know her attacker, and it's been reported that the victim was home alone at the time that this assault occurred. This obviously now meant that Richard Tobin, Michael, and anyone else that was speculated to be involved in Rachel's murder was now crossed off Detective's list. They had their perp's DNA. Richard Tobin also provided detectives with a DNA sample as well as his cell phone in order to clear his name, and he isn't sure who her attacker is either. Unfortunately, to this day, detectives have not been able to identify nor locate the man that they believe is responsible for this horrifying murder.

But despite that, their efforts continue continue and they've sent investigators to Chicago to track down a potential unknown lead, and they've also distributed flyers of the suspect to many different states in English and in Spanish. In the aftermath of Rachel's death, the rental home that she had been living in has since been demolished, and Rachel's children are now living with their respective fathers. But the children are absolutely devastated at the loss of their mother, with John Alderson, the father of two of Rachel's children, stating, quote, They'll be fine, and then all of the sudden they'll be angry.

They'll break down and cry. I try to sit down and talk with them, and I cry too. But the three fathers have joined together in the fight for justice for Rachel and also to ensure that all the kids will continue to stay connected. Matt McMahon stated, quote, It's been tough for all of them. The memories are still there, but the tangible place where the memories happened are gone. Matt has actually been one of the most invested people in this case, recently going door to door in Bel Air, Maryland, talking with residents and distributing flyers.

He said, quote, Rachel's name and the information about the suspect have to stay in the news. The reason why it has to stay in the news isn't so that we just get justice for Rachel, it's to make sure that this doesn't happen to somebody else. Yeah, because clearly the guy responsible is an active criminal. This isn't just like a one-time thing. Absolutely. A memorial walk for Rachel took place at the Ma and Pa Trail back in August of 2023 that her family and friends called a Trail of Life. Photos of Rachel lying in the trees throughout the three mile walk, covered in candles and brightly colored flowers. A spokesperson for the Moran family said that day, quote, today, instead of looking at the end of her life, we're here to remember her life and

the things she gave to everyone who knew her. Now, let's talk about the suspect a little bit more so we can pose a few of our own theories and thoughts Regarding this guy. Yeah this piece of shit. Yeah as we know Bel Air is a pretty tight-knit community in fairly small town again It just has a little over 10,000 people today and we know that he traveled from California all the way to Maryland So some of the questions that kind of linger are you know? all the way to Maryland. So some of the questions that kind of linger are, you know, what was he doing in Maryland and specifically this small town?

Like was he there for work? Maybe he had been living in California and then moved to Maryland during that kind of five, six month period between the home invasion and Rachel's murder, you know? But some people have posited that his hairstyle is indicative of potentially a military haircut, even though that is kind of a popular haircut in general for any guy.

But if he is in the military, did he transfer to one of the many military bases in Maryland? And who did he stay with during his time in Maryland if he wasn't in the armed forces? Law enforcement believe that the killer didn't know Rachel before brutally taking her life. So is it possible that he maybe saw her and stalked her prior to her murder? This is actually what police believe that he had either spotted her earlier on the trail

and waited for her or that he was just stalking this wood her earlier on the trail and waited for her, or that he was just stalking this wooded area alongside the trail, waiting for like a lone female to pass by. Yeah, it seems like kind of an opportunistic situation for him. So gross. So we also have to wonder, what was he doing that day on the Ma and Pa trail specifically? Was this a crime of opportunity? But I don't know, it feels more likely to me

that he went there for that reason. I kinda doubt that he's just on an innocent hike and then he sees her and attacks her. I'm not getting that feeling here. Yeah, especially because of his prior crime, it kinda feels like he's doing these things purposefully and he's not really just waiting for an opportunity He's on the prowl. He's on the prowl exactly well like I had said before as well This was a summer Saturday

So I am sure there were a lot of other people on the trail and because of that it is so hard to believe that Rachel and her killer were not spotted by other people that that people didn't say oh, yeah I saw this guy that matches that description hiking that day and he was kind of he kind of weirded me out because of the way he was looking at me or whatever nobody came forward saying that as far as we know but recently in the latest update regarding Rachel's case authorities say quote a group of potential witnesses seen on the hiking trail where Rachel Moran was killed have now come forward these witnesses were described as either three men two women and two dogs or two men three women and two dogs so at least five people and two dogs have come forward with information

that has not been released but they have been identified they are talking to police about what they potentially did see so this could provide more information if they did see anything crucial that day. Yeah I mean that's five people that could have seen something that day on that trail. Hopefully they did. Well terrifyingly it's also been revealed that two other women have been attacked on Maryland trails in the months after Rachel's murder. At 6.30am on

March 11th, 2024, a woman reported to police that she had been hit from behind while jogging a trail in Ellicott City's Centennial Park, which is about an hour southwest of Bel Air. But fortunately, she was able to flee her attacker and make it back to her car, suffering a minor injury during this assault. The woman said, quote, It's definitely really scary. I used to run by myself all the time. I feel like I always have to have someone with me now when I'm walking or just running. I don't want to run with air pods or

anything because it's just scary. That can happen in broad daylight in front of a public place, in front of a lot of people." But just before this woman's attack, another woman was attacked on March 6th, 2024 on the Canal Towpath Trail near the town of point of rocks which is located two hours southeast of Bel Air The woman said that she witnessed a man watching her begin her route from the trailhead and when she returned He was waiting for her and this was just after 4 p.m. That day She told police that she tried to call a friend But the man forced her to the ground and covered her nose and mouth with his hand, saying that if she cooperated, she wouldn't get hurt. She said, quote, he kept saying that he wanted to get me up the hill, which was towards the riverbank. But I didn't want to go anywhere.

The woman was able to escape her attacker as well, and then she called police. Shortly after this, state police arrived at the scene, and they were joined by National Park Service law enforcement rangers and Maryland Natural Resources police. And whether the man or men in these scenarios looked like Rachel's attacker is not known to the public. Yeah, we really don't know anything about this. We don't know if they're connected, but there's a potential there.

But it is very unsettling to know that these attacks took place mere months after Rachel's murder on different trails within Maryland, not far from Rachel's own attack. So even though Maryland isn't that small, it actually ranks 18th out of 50th for most populated states it's not out of the realm of possibility that these other attacks could be linked but for now it's just speculation without any concrete evidence. Another possibility

that seems to align with Patty's views is that the killer fled to a different country. Last month so in April of, she was interviewed by a news outlet saying, quote, In broad daylight, to grab someone and murder them, it shows that they have no respect for human life. Possibly there's somebody that he's in cahoots with, that's helping

to hide him, or he's changing his appearance. You don't just disappear. An attorney for the Moran family echoed and elaborated on this, stating, quote, We know he's a Hispanic male. We know he has the propensity to travel from California to Maryland. He may be willing to travel out of the country. In an effort to stop the killer from leaving the country and hiding out, Rachel's family launched a commercial ad campaign in April that would

potentially help citizens identify the suspect. The family attorney stated, quote, in a strategic effort to reach a broad audience, the commercial will be launched on social media platforms in Bel Air, Los Angeles, and border towns along the US-Mexico border. The commercial will reach someone who has not yet seen the sketch or doorbell camera video in the hopes of finally bringing Rachel Moran's killer to justice. And hopefully that works, but again it's hard because in the video, it's not like you have

a very clear profile, you can see part of their face and their hair So somebody that knows this person could see it and not necessarily put the pieces together Like you said Heath there are no scars. No tattoos nothing super specific but something that I would love to see if this doesn't work is Genealogical DNA testing. That's what I think is probably going to break this case wide open because they have the DNA from this guy but they don't have his name, they don't have his identity because he was never

put into the CODIS system as a criminal. His DNA wasn't put in there because he had committed a crime previously, right? Yeah. So it's very hard, but the testing really could crack it here. Yeah, because they have a full sample. It's not like they have a partial. They could put this in, and it could lead to answer. So at least there is that option. And I wonder if they're exploring it.

I guarantee they probably are going to explore this if they haven't already. But the possibilities are endless as to where Rachel's killer is now. But hope is not lost and that is precisely why it is so important to share today's story. As well as the composite sketch and the doorbell footage. We honestly believe that it's only a matter of time until this man is caught based on the DNA and video. Especially since this only happened 9 months ago from when we're recording this.

Police believe that this man is very, very dangerous, and the FBI has profiled him as quote, likely narcissistic, lacking empathy, manipulative, and a pathological liar. They also believe that if he is not caught, the likelihood of him killing again is extremely high. Now, the weather is getting much better, which means that more people are going to be out on the trails in the next few months, so please stay safe out there. And if you have any information regarding Rachel's murder or the suspect in her case, please contact the Harford County Sheriff's Tip Line at 1-866-7-LOCKUP, or you can contact the department directly at 410-836-7788.

And if you would like to submit a tip through email, please reach out to RMTips at harfordsheref.org Thank you so much everybody for listening to this episode of going west yes Thank you guys so much for listening to this episode And I don't want to harp on it again or too much but go check out our socials if you want to see the video of that guy from the doorbell camera video and Also, just to see the composite sketch of him as well. Yeah, share share share I haven't seen like any Instagram shares for a long time But it means a lot when you guys post on your stories about these cases particularly the ones that are unsolved because you you never know. Like if you share this video of the

the doorbell footage on your Instagram story or your Facebook or whatever, you never know who could be the person that will recognize him. So please make sure you do it. Rachel's family is desperate for answers and there is a very dangerous person on the loose. So I really think this is so close to being solved. I do as well and thank you guys again for listening Thank you for sharing and we will see you on Tuesday indeed Alright guys, so for everybody out there in the world don't be a stranger I'm just a little bit of a wimp. Thanks for watching!