Kentucky State Police say a body was found at the scene of a shooting near Interstate 75 nearly two weeks ago, and they believe it is suspected shooter Joseph Koch. KSP London Post was notified around 3:30 pm Wednesday that two troopers and two civilians found a body near exit 49 off I-75 in Laurel County. A WLKY NewsChopper flew by with police in an area less than a mile from the scene of the shooting. Troopers searched the area Wednesday and noticed vultures in the area along with a foul smell. As the troopers entered the woods, they ran into Sheila and Fred McCoy, and shortly after they found the body. The coroner has not positively identified the body as Soch, but police say “articles associated with the body” will lead. They believe it is him. Police did not say what articles led them to believe the body was a couch. The body is being sent to the Frankford Medical Examiner for identification. “We’re very hopeful that this will put an end to our search for Joseph Couch,” KSP Commissioner Col. Philip Burnett Jr. told Laurel County Sheriff John Rudd, adding that he hopes the investigation ends so the county can operate as usual. .Root said Couch’s family has been cooperative throughout the search and reiterated that they should not be blamed for his decisions.”I want Joe Couch to be found and kept alive,” Rood said. “We could have asked him what his motive was. Put him through the courts…the prosecutors could have prosecuted him. We wouldn’t want to find him on this stage when nobody found him.” And the search is drawing to a close, as detectives and officers are still processing information at the scene. Our Lexington affiliate WKYT spoke with McCoy, who streamed video of the discovery on the Hatfield McCoy Museum Adventures YouTube channel. They said they searched the area for several days and on Wednesday, they found it. KSP said the department and private donors will accept a $35,000 reward for information leading to McCoy’s Couch. Search teams have focused heavily on the nearly 28,000-acre Daniel Boone National Forest. Police say they found his abandoned Toyota on top of a hill near a forest access road the night after the shooting. The next day they found the AR-15 they believe was used. On Tuesday, officials announced they were shifting their focus out of the forest and back into the community. No one was killed in the shooting and all injuries were said to be life-threatening.
Kentucky State Police say a body was found at the scene of a shooting near Interstate 75 nearly two weeks ago, and they believe it is suspected shooter Joseph Koch.
KSP London Post was notified around 3:30 pm Wednesday that two troopers and two civilians found a body near exit 49 off I-75 in Laurel County. A WLKY NewsChopper flew over the area with police less than a mile from the scene of the shooting.
Soldiers searching the area on Wednesday noticed vultures in the area and smelled something rotten. As the troopers entered the woods, they ran into Sheila and Fred McCoy, and a short time later they discovered the body.
The coroner has not positively identified the body as Choch, but police say there are “articles associated with the body” that lead them to believe it is his. Police did not say what articles led them to believe the body was a couch.
The body has been sent to the Frankfort Medical Examiner for identification.
“We are confident that this will put an end to our search for Joseph Couch,” KSP Commissioner Col. Philip Burnett Jr. said.
Laurel County Sheriff John Rudd said he hopes the county will be able to operate as usual now that the investigation is complete.
Rudd said Gooch’s family was cooperative throughout the search and should not be blamed for his decisions.
“I wish we could have found Joe Cooch and we would have kept him alive,” Rudd said. “We could have asked him what his motive was. Put him through the courts…the prosecutors could have prosecuted him. We wouldn’t want to find him on this stage when nobody found him.”
Also, detectives and officers at the scene continue to process information as the search reaches its final stages.
Our Lexington affiliate WKYT spoke with the McCoy’s, who streamed a video of the discovery on the Hatfield McCoy Museum Adventures YouTube channel.
They said they searched the area for several days and found it on Wednesday.
“If anyone dies there will be eagles, follow the eagles,” they said.
The Mackays will receive a $35,000 reward provided by the department and private donors, KSP said.
Search crews have focused heavily on the nearly 28,000-acre Daniel Boone National Forest.
Police say they found his abandoned Toyota on top of a hill near a forest access road the night after the shooting. The next day they found the AR-15 they believe was used.
On Tuesday, officials announced they were shifting their focus away from the forest and back into the community.
No one died in the shooting, and all injuries were said to be life-threatening.