Search for suspect in Kentucky highway shooting ends with discovery of body believed to be him

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — The body found in rural southeastern Kentucky is believed to be that of the man suspected of shooting and wounding five people on a highway, authorities said Wednesday evening. The search ended with the involvement of two private investigators in the dramatic discovery.

Kentucky State Police Chief Phillip Burnett Jr. said the body found earlier in the day is believed to be that of Joseph Couch of Woodbine. Authorities hope the discovery marks the end of an intensive, nearly two-week search that has left residents on edge.

“People were scared,” said Laurel County Sheriff John Root. “This is not normal here in Laurel County. Now that this has been discovered, I hope our county can return to normal.”

In the September 7 shooting on Interstate 75 near London, a town of about 8,000 residents about 75 miles south of Lexington, a dozen vehicles were hit and five people were injured.

Burnett said Wednesday evening that authorities had concluded that the body was Couch based on items found with the body. He could not provide any information on the cause of death, which would be determined in an autopsy, but a weapon was found at the crime scene. He did not know how long the body had been there.

“We are very confident that the search for Joseph Couch is now complete,” Burnett said.

Root said the discovery of the body was not the outcome authorities wanted.

“I don’t think anyone on this stage would have wished we had found him in the condition we found him in,” Root said at a press conference in London. “I would have preferred him to be alive and able to pay for what he did.”

The body was found after a thorough search of the rugged and hilly terrain in the area where the attack took place. Teams combed 11,331 hectares in the search.

But it is a private couple who will receive a reward of $25,000 for their contribution to the discovery.

Kentucky YouTube streamers Fred and Sheila McCoy said they had been searching the area for about six days, looking for signs of vultures in the air. Fred McCoy said he saw some near the I-75 exit on Wednesday and followed the rough terrain into a valley. Then they noticed a foul odor.

“Hey guys, you’re not going to believe it, we found him, oh my goodness,” Sheila McCoy said as she filmed the search. “Now this little area (London) can rest.”

State police officers had been searching the area all day and also noticed vultures in the sky and smelled a strong odor, Burnett said Wednesday night. As they walked through the woods to locate the odor, officers heard voices, identified themselves and told others to do the same, he said.

It turned out that it was the McCoys who told the police that they were also looking for Couch.

“Almost immediately after this interaction between the officers and the McCoys, the officers and the McCoys encountered an unidentified body,” Burnett said.

The highway shooting forced some schools to close for several days and switch to online classes, while authorities urged residents to be extra vigilant. On Tuesday, schools in the district where the shooting occurred reopened with increased police protection.

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear called the shooting “an act of violence and evil.”

Authorities said the gunman fired 20 to 30 shots, causing chaos. The five victims survived, but some suffered serious injuries.

After Couch sent a woman a text message promising to “kill a lot of people” before the attack, he sent another saying, “I’m going to kill myself after this,” investigators said in an affidavit. The document did not describe the relationship between Couch and the woman. The two, however, have one child together but were never married, according to an attorney who handled custody of their son, born in 2016.

As the search began, authorities found Couch’s abandoned vehicle near the crime scene and a semi-automatic weapon that investigators believe was used in the shooting. An army-style duffel bag found had “Couch” handwritten on it and a phone believed to belong to Couch was found without a battery.

According to authorities, he bought the AR-15 weapon and about 1,000 rounds of ammunition at a London gun store a few hours before the shooting.

Couch had a military background in the Army Reserve. The U.S. Army said he served as a combat engineer from 2013 to 2019. He was a private when he left and had no deployments.

The search focused on a densely wooded area about eight miles north of London, which a state police official described as “a walk through the jungle.” Aided by helicopters and drones, search teams on the ground battled cliffs, sinkholes, caves, waterways and dense undergrowth.

When the ground search was suspended overnight, specially trained officers were deployed in strategic locations to prevent the gunman from leaving the area. On Tuesday, authorities said they were withdrawing search parties from the forest to increase patrols in surrounding communities, hoping to calm residents’ fears.

As the mystery of Couch’s whereabouts appeared to be solved Wednesday, the sheriff asked for prayers for the shooting victims and the suspect’s family, who he said have been cooperating with authorities.

“The family cannot be held responsible for the misfortune this guy caused,” Root said.

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Associated Press writer Dylan Lovan in Louisville, Kentucky, contributed to this report.