Body found during manhunt in Kentucky, presumably shooter in mass shooting on highway

A week and a half after a highway shooting and the subsequent manhunt for an “armed and dangerous” suspect, officials in Kentucky have found a body near the crime scene that is believed to be the suspected shooter.

Officials said two police officers and two civilians were simultaneously searching for the suspect in a wooded area in Laurel County on Wednesday when they encountered each other. After identifying each other, the group found an unidentified body believed to be Joseph A. Couch.

It was not immediately clear how far from the crime scene the body was found.

There were “items associated with the body” that led officials to believe it was Couch, said Kentucky State Police Col. Phillip Burnett Jr. An official identification is expected Thursday, officials said, adding that there are still no clues as to how Couch died.

“We are very confident that the search for Joseph Couch is now complete,” Burnett said, later adding, “The people of Laurel County can rest easy, much more calmly, knowing that this manhunt is now over.”

Burnett said vultures played a role in the discovery of the body. He said Wednesday night that police officers had been searching the area all day when they noticed vultures circling and that while they were in the woods they could smell what looked like rotting flesh.

As officers were “marching through the dense terrain” trying to locate the scent and area where the vultures were circling, they heard voices. Those voices belonged to a couple who identified themselves as Fred and Sheila McCoy, Burnett said.

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

Burnett said the McCoys have cooperated and given police “relevant information” and will receive the money they were supposed to pay for their help in finding the body.

Police were still examining the crime scene Wednesday evening, Burnett said, adding that the investigation was still ongoing.

Authorities have been searching for 32-year-old Couch since the shooting on September 7th next to Interstate 75, eight miles north of the small town of London. Five people were seriously injured.

Laurel County Sheriff John Root said at Wednesday's press conference that this is “not normal here in Laurel County.” He said, “Now that this has been discovered, I hope our county can return to normal.”

“Our only goal was to find this guy,” Root said, noting that Couch's family has been cooperative throughout the search.

Root said he was proud of how all parties conducted the search and he wouldn't change anything.

The weapon used in the shooting, an AR-15 rifle, was purchased legally in London on the day of the shooting, authorities said.

Police officials said the gunman parked near a hill above the highway to fire at vehicles. He had about 1,000 rounds of ammunition, most of which were recovered.

According to the sheriff, 12 vehicles were hit and an estimated 20 to 30 shots were fired. Some drivers did not notice the attack until hours later.

The days-long search for Couch, a former Army reservist, involved helicopters and drones with infrared technology, while special operations teams and trained dogs tracked him across thousands of acres of jungle-like terrain.

“The terrain was treacherous,” officials said Wednesday, adding that it was “very hilly” and “the cover there was so dense” that search crews could barely see three feet ahead.

Couch was charged with five counts of attempted murder and five counts of first-degree assault. He has no criminal record; a charge of making terroristic threats was dropped in March, said Jackie Steele, district attorney for the area.

Shortly before the shooting, a woman who has a child with Couch called Laurel County 911 with a frightening message.

“I'm going to kill a lot of people. Well, I'm going to try,” Couch wrote to her, according to an affidavit.

He added: “I'm going to kill myself after this.”

A motive for the attack has not yet been determined, and authorities say there is no evidence that Couch specifically targeted anyone or worked with others.

Root said Wednesday he wished authorities could have found Couch while he was alive so they could have asked him about his intentions and he could have “paid for his actions.”