A body found in rural southeastern Kentucky is believed to be the man suspected of shooting and wounding five people on an interstate highway, authorities said Wednesday night. The search ended with two private sleuths joining in the dramatic discovery.
Kentucky State Police Commissioner Phillip Burnett Jr. said the body located earlier in the day was believed to be Joseph Couch, of Woodbine. Authorities hoped the discovery signaled the conclusion of an intense, nearly two-week search that had area residents on edge.
"People have been in fear," Laurel County Sheriff John Root said. "That's not the normal here in Laurel County. So now that this has been discovered, I hope that our county can get back to what's normal."
A dozen vehicles were hit and five people wounded in the Sept. 7 shooting on Interstate 75 near London, a city of about 8,000 people roughly 75 miles 120 kilometers south of Lexington.
Burnett said Wednesday night that accessories found with the body led authorities to conclude it was Couch. He had no details on the cause of death, saying that would be determined in an autopsy, but he said a weapon was found at the site. He didn't know how long the body had been there.
