Rachel Morin’s Mom Warned Daughter About Hiking Alone on Trail Where She Was Killed: ‘Worst Nightmare’

Rachel Morin's mother is holding out hope that her daughter's killer will be brought to justice nearly three months after she was found murdered on a popular hiking trail outside Bel Air, Maryland.

"It's been very hard," Patty Morin told the Union Leader of coping with the death of her daughter. "I have been trying to kind of sort out my thoughts and my feelings and my emotions."

Rachel, a 37-year-old mother of five, had been visiting the Ma & Pa Heritage hiking trail on Aug. 5 when she was reported missing by her boyfriend when she didn't return home.

Her body was found near the trail by a search team the next day.

“A mother’s worst nightmare is to hear those words,” Patty told the Union Leader of the news.

"[Rachel] didn't see herself as being a target or at risk for anything," she told WBAL. "She lived life as Rachel. She loved people and was outgoing, so that made me scared for her, and I would tell her all the time, 'Rachel, don't walk the trail by yourself.'"

DNA collected from the crime scene matched a suspect linked to a residential break-in and assault in Los Angeles earlier this year, the Harford County Sheriff previously announced.

Today, the suspect is still unidentified, despite home surveillance footage from L.A. that primarily shows the male suspect from the side and back.

Authorities have described him as Hispanic and in his early to mid-20s. He stands at approximately 5-foot-9 and weighs 160 lbs.

"We don't know if our community is really safe, and so I want this person caught," Patty told WJZ News. "I don't want this to happen to anybody else."

Working with attorney Randolph Rice, the family has helped in the search for the suspect by launching a digital campaign hoping to reach people who may not speak English as a first language.

In October, a reward for information leading to Rachel's killer was increased to $30,000, just days after it had been raised from $10,000 to $20,000.

Patty told the Union Leader that she plans to write a children's book on grief and hold an exhibition or auction of her artwork to raise money for the reward fund.

With her daughter's killer still out there, Patty says she hopes people do not "forget Rachel" and her story as time goes on — so, at the very least, her murderer can pay for the pain they have caused.

“It’s kind of like you’re holding pain, and you can’t let it go because letting go of the pain is kind of like letting go of Rachel,” she explained to the Union Leader, “and you can’t let go of Rachel because you haven’t been able to make sense of it.”

"We're so connected that it physically hurts us that she's not here," Patty told WBAL. "I know it's a fact, but I can't accept it yet."

Anyone with information on the case is urged to call (410) 836-7788. Tips can also be sent to rmtisps@harfrodsheriff.org.