After a 10-month search across the country, investigators said they arrested the suspect on Friday who allegedly murdered Rachel Morin as she hiked on a Maryland trail last summer.
Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler told reporters Saturday that local police and the FBI arrested Victor Antonio Martinez-Hernandez in Tulsa, Oklahoma, based on DNA evidence and tracking work in connection with the 2023 murder.
Morin, 37, a mother of five, was found dead on the Ma & Pa Heritage Trail on August 6, 2023, one day after her boyfriend reported her missing for not returning home from a hike.
Rachel Morin is seen in this photo released by the Harford County Sheriff’s Office.
Harford County Sheriff’s Office
Gahler said his team, the FBI and the community have worked tirelessly to bring justice to Morin and her family.
“Our deputies and partners have worked on this case every day with perseverance and passion,” he said.
Martinez-Hernandez, 23, will face charges of first-degree murder and first-degree rape when extradited to Maryland, Gahler said.
Investigators believe Morin was attacked along the trail and dragged through a wooded area before being killed in a sewer adjacent to the trail, the sheriff’s office previously said.
Shortly after Morin’s body was found, DNA evidence was recovered from the crime scene. This evidence is linked to a 2023 Los Angeles burglary in which a suspect’s DNA was found. According to the sheriff, a 9-year-old girl was attacked in the LA case.
Although they had DNA evidence and video of the break-in, they were not able to identify the suspect until May, according to Gahler.
Police said they arrested Victor Antonio Martinez-Hernandez on June 14, 2024, in connection with the 2023 murder of Rachel Morin.
Harford County Sheriff’s Office
Martinez-Hernandez is believed to have entered the United States illegally from El Salvador last year, where he was wanted for the murder of a woman, according to the sheriff’s office and the FBI.
“Thanks to the new DNA evidence, we now knew who he was, but not where he was,” said Gahler.
Two weeks ago, investigators tracked the suspect to Tulsa and an arrest warrant was issued on Friday.
Gahler said his office confidentially informed Morin’s family about the warrant before the arrest.
Patricia Morin, the victim’s mother, held back tears as she thanked investigators and the press for their help in finding the suspect.
Patricia Morin, mother of Rachel Morin, speaks at a press conference at the Harford County Sheriff’s Office on June 15, 2024 following the arrest of a suspect in her daughter’s murder.
Harford County Sheriff’s Office
“At one point, when things looked really grim and hopeless, the lead investigator told me, ‘Patience will win out in the end,'” she said during the press conference. “I’m very grateful and very thankful.”
The investigation into the murder is still ongoing.
Gahler said investigators still do not know the motive for the murder, but noted that it appears the suspect acted alone.
Information about the suspect’s lawyer was not immediately available. An extradition date has not yet been set.
ABC News’ Nadine El-Bawab contributed to this report.
