Man arrested almost a year after mom of 5 was killed on Maryland hiking trail

HARFORD COUNTY, Md. (TCN) -- A man accused of killing a 37-year-old mother of five on a popular hiking trail was arrested this week after almost a year on the run.

Harford County Sheriff Jeff Gahler announced in a press conference June 15 that investigators apprehended and arrested Victor Antonio Martinez Hernandez in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on charges of rape and murder in connection with the death of Rachel Morin.

Morin’s boyfriend reported her missing at around 11:30 p.m. on Aug. 5, 2023, after she failed to return home from a hike at the Ma and Pa Trail in Bel Air. She reportedly left for the trail at around 6 p.m. Harford County deputies went to the trailhead and located her vehicle, but Morin was nowhere to be found. Morin’s body was discovered off the trail Aug. 6, 2023, just before 1:10 p.m.

Her cause of death was not released.

Later that month, investigators shared a photo of a man they believed was the suspect in Morin’s killing, but they did not know his identity.

Detectives caught a break in the case on May 30 using DNA evidence that connected the suspect to a March 2023 assault and home invasion in Los Angeles. Gahler said, "On May 20, on what should have been Rachel’s 38th birthday, a poetic coincidence, or perhaps Rachel’s own divine assistance, our investigators uncovered a lead that led us to this day."

According to Gahler, Martinez Hernandez is from El Salvador and came to the United States illegally in February 2023 after allegedly killing a woman there in January 2023.

"We suspect Rachel was not his first victim," Gahler said.

There is a warrant for his arrest in El Salvador, and he also is facing charges in Tulsa.

Martinez Hernandez will be extradited to Maryland from Oklahoma.

Gahler said at the press conference, "Hopefully, he will never have the opportunity to walk free again."

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