Kentucky State Police working to identify body found near site of Interstate 75 shooting
Republished from Kentucky Lantern
Kentucky State Police are working to identify a body found near where five people were shot on Interstate 75 in Laurel County almost two weeks ago.
Kentucky State Police Trooper Scott Pennington in a social media post Wednesday afternoon said troopers located the body “in the vicinity of exit 49 in Laurel County.” Law enforcement has been searching for the alleged shooter Joseph Couch, 32, in the Daniel Boone National Forest. On Tuesday, officials announced a shift in the focus of the search to increasing police presence in nearby communities.
WKYT in Lexington reports 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 have been live-streaming their searches through the dense woods on a You Tube 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 canceled classes and football games in response.
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 had 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.
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