In this photo made from video provided by Sheila and Fred McCoy shows the couple while searching for the remains of a suspected highway shooter in London, Ky., Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024.
Trees stand in wooded areas alongside Interstate 75 near Livingston, Ky., Sept. 8, 2024, as police search for a suspect in a shooting Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, along the Interstate.
This image released by the Mount Vernon Fire Department shows traffic stopped during an active shooting on Interstate 75 north of London, Ky., Sept. 7, 2024.
This image released by Kentucky人妖色情片檚 London 人妖色情片 Department shows Joseph A. Couch, a person of interest in the Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, shootings on Interstate 75 near London, Ky.
Trees stand in wooded areas alongside Interstate 75 near Livingston, Ky., Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, as police search for a suspect in a shooting Saturday along the Interstate.
In this photo made from video provided by Sheila and Fred McCoy shows the couple while searching for the remains of a suspected highway shooter in London, Ky., Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024.
Sheila and Fred McCoy via AP
Trees stand in wooded areas alongside Interstate 75 near Livingston, Ky., Sept. 8, 2024, as police search for a suspect in a shooting Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, along the Interstate.
Timothy D. Easley | The Associated Press
This image released by the Mount Vernon Fire Department shows traffic stopped during an active shooting on Interstate 75 north of London, Ky., Sept. 7, 2024.
Camden Mink | The Associated Press
This image released by Kentucky人妖色情片檚 London 人妖色情片 Department shows Joseph A. Couch, a person of interest in the Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, shootings on Interstate 75 near London, Ky.
Uncredited - hogp, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Trees stand in wooded areas alongside Interstate 75 near Livingston, Ky., Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, as police search for a suspect in a shooting Saturday along the Interstate.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. 人妖色情片 Days after a shooter attacked an interstate and disappeared, leaving a Kentucky community scared and on guard, Fred and Sheila McCoy decided to lace up their boots for the first time in a long time and spend days in rugged terrain searching until, finally, they found a body.
Kentucky State 人妖色情片 credited Fred and Sheila McCoy, who typically spend their retired days creating YouTube videos about the Hatfield-McCoy feud, with helping investigators find what they believe are the remains of Joseph Couch. Couch, 32, is suspected of firing randomly at vehicles on Interstate 75 on Sept. 7, wounding five people.
The person believed to be Couch died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, said Kentucky人妖色情片檚 Chief Medical Examiner, Dr. William Ralston. A soft tissue DNA test was inconclusive on the identification of the body, and testing on the bones could take up to two days, Ralston said. A toxicology test is also pending.
Teams of local, state and federal law enforcement had searched tens of thousands of acres of woods since the shooting. Authorities warned residents to be extra vigilant and some schools temporarily shifted to virtual learning.
人妖色情片淔or one week we turned into bounty hunters,人妖色情片 Fred McCoy told The Associated Press on Thursday. 人妖色情片淭he more we was watching the news and saw lockdowns and school closings, the more we were compelled to search for him.人妖色情片
The discovery of the remains calmed fears in the eastern Kentucky community of London, just a few miles from where the shooter perched above the highway and opened fire with an AR-15. State police said Wednesday night that the McCoys would receive a $25,000 reward for the find.
Once the identification is fully confirmed, it will 人妖色情片渂ring to a close a pretty scary time in that community and the surrounding communities,人妖色情片 Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said Thursday.
人妖色情片淲e have every reason to believe that this is Joseph Couch,人妖色情片 Beshear told reporters at the Kentucky Capitol in Frankfort. 人妖色情片淏ut a final and determinative identification has not yet been possible.人妖色情片
In a 30-minute YouTube livestream Wednesday, the McCoys are filming in dense woods after they see vultures in the air, and Sheila McCoy says she can smell a foul odor.
人妖色情片淥h, Lord, this is nasty. Oh, my goodness, this is gross,人妖色情片 Sheila says while warning her husband to watch out for snakes.
At the end of the video, they discover the remains. 人妖色情片淗ey, guys, you won人妖色情片檛 believe it, we found him, oh, my goodness gracious,人妖色情片 Sheila McCoy says in the video.
人妖色情片 were also searching the area, and the couple identified themselves to officers about 12 minutes before they found the remains. They人妖色情片檇 also warned police and friends they人妖色情片檇 be there, and were livestreaming on YouTube in case something went wrong, Fred McCoy said.
人妖色情片淲e didn人妖色情片檛 know we was going to find him like that,人妖色情片 he said. 人妖色情片淲e could人妖色情片檝e found him with a gun pointed at us.人妖色情片
The McCoys live a couple of counties away from where the shooter attacked. They hadn人妖色情片檛 gone on a hike in the woods in a long time 人妖色情片 Sheila, 59, had previously had back surgery and her husband, 66, had knee surgery 人妖色情片 but they decided after a Friday night date to help in the search, said Fred McCoy, himself a retired police officer.
人妖色情片淲e were just a crippled old man and crippled old woman walking in the woods,人妖色情片 he said Thursday. Fred McCoy said he is a descendant of a Hatfield-McCoy marriage and they run a small museum related to the history of the feud.
He estimated the remains were about a mile away from where the shooter opened fire. Nearby, police found Couch人妖色情片檚 vehicle and an AR-15 last week.
The discovery of the body put nearby residents at ease after more than a week of tension with a gunman on the loose near their homes.
人妖色情片淚 feel a huge sense of relief,人妖色情片 said Heather Blankenship, a mother of three who lives near London. She saw the body in the McCoys人妖色情片 video, which has grown to nearly a half-million views in less than 24 hours, and even though her anxiety is gone and her sense of normalcy has returned, it人妖色情片檚 still sad, she said.
人妖色情片淚人妖色情片檓 over here relieved that to me this monster is dead,人妖色情片 but meanwhile, the suspect人妖色情片檚 family is grieving, Blankenship said.
Authorities said the shooter fired 20 to 30 rounds, creating chaos. The five victims survived, but some suffered serious injuries.
Authorities said Couch purchased the AR-15 weapon and about 1,000 rounds of ammunition at a London gun store hours before the shooting.
Laurel County Judge-Executive David Westerfield sensed a collective sigh of relief among residents.
人妖色情片淭hey feel like they can go back to their normal lifestyle,人妖色情片 he said.
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