Police find body in manhunt for Kentucky highway shooter

Police on Wednesday said they discovered a body believed to be that of a fugitive suspected of shooting and wounding five people in cars travelling along a Kentucky highway earlier this month.

Army veteran Joseph Couch, 32, opened fire on unsuspecting motorists with an AR-style semiautomatic rifle that he purchased just hours before the shooting.

Kentucky state troopers accompanied by a couple that had been searching for Couch stumbled upon an unidentified body in a wooded area, Kentucky State Police ​Commissioner Phillip Burnett told reporters. 

Were very confident that this brings a closure in the search for Joseph Couch, Burnett said, adding that personal items found at the scene pointed toward Couch and an unspecified weapon was nearby. 

The body would be sent to the state capital of Frankfort for identification, Burnett said.

Drivers park on the the lanes of the I-75 highway after reports of multiple people shot about nine miles north of London, Kentucky, U.S. September 7, 2024

Drivers park on the lanes of the I-75 highway after reports of multiple people being shot while driving down the interstate highway, near London, Kentucky, U.S., in this picture obtained from social media, September 7, 2024

On September 7, Couch struck a dozen cars and wounded five people on Interstate 75 near London, a city of about 8,000 people. No one was killed, but cops have been searching for him ever since. 

The body was found following an exhaustive search of the rugged and hilly terrain in the area where the attack happened. 

Investigators have not publicly speculated as to the shooters motive. A text Couch sent to his ex-wife indicated he intended to kill himself after targeting strangers.

Before the shooting spree, police received a call from Couchs ex-wife who said he texted her that Im going to kill a lot of people ... Well try at least, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported, citing an affidavit for an arrest warrant it had reviewed.

The woman later showed officers a follow-up text message saying, Ill kill myself afterwards, the affidavit said. 

The couple who helped discover the body - Fred and Sheila McCoy - would be eligible for a $25,000 reward, Burnett said.

They were drawn to the spot by a large numbers of vultures flying overhead, the Herald-Leader reported, citing a video the couple made that was interrupted by someone off-screen saying, Hey, no pictures. This is a crime scene.

Multiple state, federal and local law enforcement agencies had been searching the Daniel Boone National Forest using helicopters, drones, dogs and special response teams, officials said two days after the shooting.

The shooting took place on Interstate 75 about 8 miles outside the city of London in southeastern Kentucky.

Five people were injured, and at least 12 vehicles were hit, officials said.

Police that night recovered the AR rifle, Couchs car and a cellphone with the battery removed near the shooting site at Exit 49, officials said.