Authorities in Kentucky believe they have found the body of a highway shooting suspect with the help of a couple who live-streamed the search on YouTube and vultures that were spotted flying around the body.
According to authorities, two state troopers and civilians Fred and Sheila McCoy were searching for the suspect at the same time in a wooded area of Laurel County on Wednesday when they came across each other. After the two identified themselves to each other, the group discovered an unidentified body believed to be that of Joseph A. Couch.
Kentucky State Police Col. Philip Barnett Jr. said there were “items associated with” the body and authorities are confident it is Couch. Officials added that a formal identification will be made Thursday but that they have no idea yet about Couch’s cause of death.
“We believe this marks the end of the search for Joseph Couch,” Burnett said, later adding, “The people of Laurel County can rest easy knowing this search has now concluded.”
Authorities had been searching for Couch, 32, since the Sept. 7 shooting along Interstate 75, eight miles north of the small city of London, that left five people seriously injured.
Mr Barnett said vultures played a role in discovering the body. He said officers had been searching the area all day when they noticed vultures circling Wednesday night and were in the woods when they began to smell what appeared to be carrion.
As officers were “moving through the dense woods,” trying to find the source of the scent and where the vultures were circling, they heard voices, which Barnett said belonged to a couple who identified themselves as Fred and Sheila McCoy.
“Shortly after the interaction between officers and the McCoys, officers and the McCoys discovered an unidentified body,” Burnett said.
Barnett said the McCoys have been cooperative and provided officers with “relevant information” and will receive the reward allocated for their assistance in finding the body.
Barnett added that officers continued to canvass the scene Wednesday night and the investigation remains ongoing.
Laurel County Sheriff John Root said at a press conference Wednesday that this is “not normal here in Laurel County.” He said, “Hopefully, now that this has come to light, our county can get back to normal.”
“Our only goal was to get this man out,” Root said, noting that Couch’s family had been supportive throughout the search effort.
Root said he was proud of the way everyone involved approached the search and wouldn’t want to change anything.
Authorities said the gun used in the shooting was an AR-15 rifle that was purchased legally in London on the day of the incident.
Police said the gunman parked his car near a ridge overlooking the highway and opened fire on the vehicle, carrying about 1,000 rounds of ammunition, most of which have since been recovered.
According to the sheriff’s office, 12 vehicles were hit and an estimated 20 to 30 rounds were fired, with some drivers not realizing their vehicles had been hit until hours later.
The days-long search for Couch, a former Army reservist, involved helicopters and drones equipped with infrared technology, as well as special response teams and trained dogs to track him across thousands of acres of land likened to a jungle.
“The terrain was hazardous,” officials said Wednesday, adding that it was “very rough” and “thick cover” made it difficult for searchers to see even a few feet ahead.
Couch was charged with five counts of attempted murder and five counts of first-degree assault. He has no criminal record and a terroristic threatening charge was dismissed in March, said Jackie Steele, the district attorney.
Shortly before the shooting, Couch and a woman with a child called the Laurel County dispatch center with a terrifying message.
“I’m going to kill a lot of people. Well, at least I’ll try,” Couch wrote to her, according to an arrest affidavit.
He continued: “After that I’m going to kill myself.”
No motive for the attack has been released, and authorities said there is no indication that Couch was targeting anyone in particular or conspiring with others.
Root said Wednesday he wished authorities had found Couch while he was still alive, asked him about his intentions and made him “pay for what he did.”
