by Liam Niemeyer, Kentucky Lantern
September 18, 2024
Law enforcement officials in a Wednesday evening news conference said they think a body found near where five people were shot on Interstate 75 in Laurel County is the alleged shooter.
Kentucky State Police Commissioner Phillip Burnett Jr. said confirmation that the body was the alleged shooter, Joseph Couch, 32, would have to await an autopsy Thursday in Frankfort. Burnett said a weapon was found near the body but did not offer details on how long officials think the body had been there or how Couch died.
“Sometimes these things take time, and that’s what this one did. But this was about perseverance, that we did not give up,” Burnett said. “We brought it to a successful conclusion.”
WKYT in Lexington reported that a couple who had been hunting for Couch, Fred and Sheila McCoy, said they found the body Wednesday after observing an increase in vultures near the area. They told WKYT that they began looking for Couch in the dense woods as a “date night” idea and have been live-streaming their searches on a YouTube channel called “Hatfields and McCoys Museum Adventures.”
Fred McCoy told WKYT they were hoping to claim the $35,000 reward offered for information leading to Couch’s arrest but also wanted to help restore normalcy to shaken residents. Schools in southern Kentucky had canceled classes and football games in response to Couch’s disappearance after the shootings.
Burnett said the couple who had found the body would be receiving $15,000 from the Laurel County Crime Stoppers and another $10,000 from a private donation.
Laurel County Sheriff John Root said he wanted prayers for the victims of the shooting along with prayers for Couch’s family.
“He’s a human being, and I wish we could have took him alive. It just so happened that we didn’t,” Root said.
Couch is charged with attempted murder and assault for allegedly shooting at cars from a ledge overlooking I-75. All five people who were wounded in the shooting have been released from hospitals.
Couch left behind a car and an AR-15 rifle he had legally purchased the day of the shooting. He texted his ex-wife that he was “going to kill a lot of people” and then himself.
The shooting set off a manhunt over 28,000 acres that employed state and federal law enforcement, dogs, drones, a National Guard Black Hawk helicopter and surveillance cameras. On Tuesday, officials announced a shift in the focus of the search to increasing police presence in nearby communities.
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