LONDON, Ky. ( FOX 56 ) — The search for suspected I-75 shooter Joseph A. Couch is still underway in northern Laurel County.
In a news release Tuesday morning, Laurel County Sheriff John Root said United Way of London pledged $10,000 for information leading to an arrest of Couch. United Way’s contribution joins a $10,000 pledge from an anonymous source and $5,000 from the London Laurel County Crime Stoppers, according to Root.
Who is Joseph Couch? Suspected I-75 shooter warned he was going to ‘kill a lot of people’ By Tuesday afternoon, Root said another unnamed source offered $10,000, bringing the total reward to $35,000.
“Until we’ve exhausted all resources, we’re not going to quit,” Root told FOX 56. “We definitely want to, you know, lay hands on him and bring him to justice.”
On Sunday, 32-year-old Couch was named a suspect in the shooting that officials said injured five people and damaged 12 vehicles traveling down I-75 near exit 49 on Saturday. In the aftermath, the interstate remained closed for over four hours, and several school districts closed their doors on Monday and Tuesday due to the manhunt.
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The U.S. National Forest Service said that numerous sections and trails in the Daniel Boone National Forest between U.S. Highway 421 and KY Highway 192 will be closed on Tuesday to support search efforts.
“This closure includes portions of Section 20 (McKee) and Section 26 (Laurel Lake) and all of Sections 21 (Horse Lick), 22 (Rockcastle), 23 (Wildcat), 24 (Hawk Creek) and 25 (Big Dog),” U.S. Forest Service said in a Facebook post.
In an affidavit obtained by FOX 56 News on Monday, Laurel County dispatch said it received a call from a woman who claimed Couch texted her that he was going to “ kill a lot of people .” She also reported that he sent her another message that read, in part, “I’ll kill myself afterwards.”
PREVIOUS | Search resumes for suspect after shooting on I-75 in Laurel County In a statement from the U.S. Army Reserve on Tuesday, officials said Couch was a 12B combat engineer from March 2013 to January 2019. He was a private at the end of service and had no deployments.
Kentucky State Police hosted a media briefing Tuesday afternoon, addressing concerns surrounding the shooting investigation and the continued search for Couch.
“At this time, there’s nothing that we have came up with to say Mr. Couch has left those woods. There’s nothing to say he’s got in a car. There’s so many people that’s got eyes on this investigation around the world that by now, we should’ve got a pretty good tip that he has exited the woods. We have not got that. So our main focus is to remain in those woods until we find him,” Pennington said.
Pennington thanked community partners and local, state, and federal agencies for their help in the days-long search. He also encouraged the community to keep helping each other.
Laurel County declares state of emergency amid search for gunman “We encourage them to continue to check on their neighbor; check on the elderly person that don’t have somebody regularly coming to their house. Make sure you hear from them daily. Make sure you’re being vigilant when you go home, that you’re checking maybe your camera, your Ring camera. You’re checking your security system before you go in the house. Make sure somebody didn’t cross through your yard that shouldn’t be. Make sure your lights are on. Make sure your cellphones are charged,” Pennington said.
Officials also confirmed that evidence had been collected from Couch’s home.
“Some of those items, it’s part of the evidence, but it’s also some of the reasons we’re still remaining in the woods because we have nothing to say, ‘Hey, let’s go outside of the woods.’ Because we think that’s where he’s at, due to some of that evidence. Now, I can’t get into the evidence that was collected or found, but, you know, we’re going to stay in there until we find him until stuff takes us to another direction,” Pennington said.
Investigators said at this time, they do not know if he has another weapon.
‘Let the mountains ring forever’: I-75 shooting hits close to home for Kentucky music festival “He could’ve borrowed a weapon or found a weapon. We don’t know that. Right now, we know he committed a harsh, cruel act of violence, and we’ve got to consider him armed and dangerous until we locate him,” Pennington said.
Local, regional, and federal agencies will continue to search for Couch until they find him “dead or alive.”
“Some people say, ‘What if he’s not alive anymore?’ Well, we’re gonna stay in the woods until we find him. And, you know, that’s our job; if he’s dead or alive, it’s our job to try to find him, and that’s what we’re gonna do,” Pennington said.
Madylin Goins contributed to this story.
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