Body found in Laurel County believed to be I-75 shooter

Investigators believe they have found the body of a man they say shot five people and a dozen cars on I-75 in Laurel County this month.

Kentucky State Police said that the body found Wednesday is believed to be Joseph A. Couch, 32, of Woodbine, Kentucky.

Articles of clothing found with the body led them to conclude it was him.

The body was found by a civilian couple as well as two troopers in deep rural brush off Interstate 75, Kentucky State Police Commissioner Phillip Burnett Jr. said.

The troopers said they were drawn to the area by circling vultures and an odor of decay. The troopers and the couple, searching for Couch separately, encountered each other in the woods, and the four then encountered the body, Burnett said.

The body is being sent to the coroner's office for positive identification. 

It was found not far from where the Sept. 7 shooting occurred near London, a city of about 8,000 people about 75 miles south of Lexington.

Couch reportedly texted a woman before the incident that he would "kill a lot of people," then take his own life.

Twelve vehicles were hit by gunfire and five people were injured in the shooting. Although Exit 49 was the focus of the original search, law enforcement had also been combing 28,000 acres of the Daniel Boone National Forest with dogs, drones, helicopters and other personnel.

Police said they received more than 400 tips from the public over the course of the search.