LONDON, Ky. ( FOX 56 ) — As 10 days have passed since the shooting on I-75 in Laurel County, state and area leaders held a briefing Tuesday afternoon regarding the ongoing manhunt for the suspect .
Gov. Beshear was joined by Kentucky State Police (KSP) Commissioner Phillip “PJ” Burnett, Jr. and other local leaders for the briefing at noon EDT in London.
Who is Joseph Couch? Alleged I-75 shooter warned he was going to ‘kill a lot of people’ Officials said five people were injured and 12 vehicles were damaged in the I-75 shooting on Sept. 7. Since then, law enforcement has been searching Daniel Boone National Forest for the suspect: 32-year-old Joseph Couch .
Over 28,000 acres of land have been searched and cleared, authorities said on Monday, and as the search expands, they have introduced K9s, cadaver dogs, thermal imaging, and more.
During the Tuesday briefing, Beshear said cameras were placed throughout the forest to detect movement. The cameras continued to be monitored for any activity.
KSP makes plea to suspected I-75 gunman as search enters second week: ‘Turn yourself in’ “Our best plan now is to augment law enforcement in this community to where our people are,” Beshear said. “In other words, as the odds of finding the individual in the forest are less, the deployment of our resources into the community now provides a better public safety outcome, a better deterrent, than simply continuing the manhunt at its current levels.”
According to Burnett, there have been over 400 reported tips regarding the manhunt for Couch, and the majority of those were outside the national forest.
“We feel like we’ll be better off to protect our communities by moving those personnel,” Burnett said. “This is the best plan that we have going forward. We have looked at every possible scenario. We’ve looked at every piece of equipment, technology that we can utilize, and this, from what we have discovered so far in this search, this is the best plan moving forward.”
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Beginning Tuesday afternoon, Beshear said state and local law enforcement will transition to having a larger presence in the surrounding communities. This was said to include schools, bus routes, sporting events, day cares, hospitals, residences, businesses, and more.
“We are reallocating resources because we believe it is necessary now to do so to provide for the best safety outcomes for our citizens,” the governor said.
Beshear emphasized that this is a reallocation, not a reduction, of personnel.
“We will not live our lives in fear,” Beshear said. “We will move forward together, and yes, we will get through this together.”
Safety concerns grow in Laurel County as suspected I-75 shooter remains at large Laurel County Crime Stoppers is offering a $15,000 reward for any information leading to the arrest of Couch. Anonymous donors have also offered additional funds for a $35,000 total reward.
Anyone with information that could help find Couch is asked to call any of the following Kentucky law enforcement agencies:
Madylin Goins contributed to this story.
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