In a press conference late Wednesday evening, Kentucky State Police Commissioner Phillip Burnett, Jr. confirmed that the remains found hours ago near I-75 Exit 49 in Laurel County are believed to be Joseph A. Couch.
Burnett said that, at approximately 3:30 p.m., authorities were notified that two state troopers and two civilians had discovered the human remains near Exit 49.
Burnett explained that vultures in the air led searchers to believe that the remains might be located in the general area, and a “strong odor” helped to confirm their suspicions just before the actual discovery.
The civilians were identified as Fred and Sheila McCoy, and Burnett confirmed that they would be receiving $15,000 in reward money from Laurel County Crime Stoppers for their efforts, as well as an additional $10,000 from a private donor.
Burnett said KSP troopers are still processing the scene, but that articles found along with the remains indicate that it is Joseph Couch. The commissioner was not able to elaborate on what those articles were specifically, but he did reveal that a weapon had been found at the scene.
Burnett said the remains will be sent to Frankfort for positive identification tomorrow (Thursday), and that additional details would be forthcoming. As of now there is no official word on exact cause of death, how long the body had been at the discovery site, or exactly how far the discovery site was from the original scene of the shooting.
There is also no official word on motive for the crime at this time.
Laurel County Sheriff John Root once again thanked all assisting agencies, and expressed relief that the search for Couch is now apparently over, although he said he wished that Couch could have been taken alive.
Root also asked for prayers for Couch’s family, who he said have cooperated with investigators since the beginning of the search 12 days ago.
ORIGINAL: One day after Gov. Andy Beshear announced that boots on the ground resources looking for suspected mass shooter Joseph A. Couch, 32, of Woodbine, in the Daniel Boone National Forest near the Exit 49 area would be reallocated, a body has been discovered.
“Kentucky State Police troopers have located a body in the vicinity off Exit 49 in Laurel County and detectives are working to confirm the identity,” Kentucky State Police Master Trooper Scottie Pennington, who is public affairs officer at KSP Post 11 in London, wrote in a release about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Beshear and KSP Commissioner Phillip Burnett Jr. announced Tuesday that 28,000 acres had been searched and resources would be allocated back into the community focusing on citizen safety.
Hundreds of officers from various local, state and federal agencies took part in the search, which utilized everything from boots on the ground to search dogs, helicopters and drones.
On Sept. 7, Couch allegedly opened fire on I-75 from a ledge near Exit 49 with an AR-15 rifle he bought earlier that morning. A total of 12 vehicles were shot and five people were injured during the shooting.
About 30 minutes prior to the shooting, Couch texted a woman, who police identified as a girlfriend, writing, “I’m going to kill a lot of people. Well try at least.” He then allegedly texted another message to her that read, “I’ll kill myself afterwards…,” according to the affidavit for his arrest warrants.
Prior to the shooting, the woman called London-Laurel E-911 dispatch center to warn them about the message Couch had allegedly sent her.
A few hours after the shooting, officers located a Toyota CHR in the Cromer Ridge area of Laurel County adjacent to I-75 at Exit 49. Records confirmed that the vehicle was registered to Couch.
Couch purchased the AR-15 rifle and ammunition from a London gun store the morning of the shooting for $2,914.40.
The next day, law enforcement conducted a search of the area adjacent to the location where Couch’s vehicle was found, which had a view of I-75.
Officers discovered a green army style duffle bag, several magazines of .223 caliber/5.56 mm ammunition, and numerous spent shell casings. A short distance from this discovery, officers located a Cobalt AR-15 with a Holosun sight mounted to it and several additional AR-15 magazines. An examination of the duffle bag revealed it had “Couch” handwritten in black marker on the bag.
Laurel County Sheriff’s Capt. Richard Dalrymple obtained an arrest warrant to charge Couch with five counts of first-degree assault and five counts of attempted murder in connection with the incident, but authorities were unable to locate Couch.
