A Kentucky couple who reportedly helped authorities find the body of a suspect who shot up a vehicle on Interstate 75 earlier this month say they have become bounty hunters in an effort to find the suspect.
Fred and Sheila McCoy, who in retirement normally make YouTube videos about the notorious Hatfield-McCoy feud, spent days in the rugged terrain before finding the body of a man authorities suspect was Joseph Couch.
“For a week we became bounty hunters,” Fred McCoy told The Associated Press on Thursday. “The more we watched the news and saw lockdowns and school closures, the more we wanted to find him.”
Kentucky State Police believe a body discovered by a couple livestreaming is that of a man who opened fire on a motorist.
Sheila and Fred McCoy, who live in Kentucky, discovered the body of a man authorities believe to be Joseph Couch. (Sheila and Fred McCoy, Kentucky State Police, via The Associated Press)
Couch, 32, is accused of opening fire on the freeway on Sept. 7, wounding five people. The suspect fired between 20 and 30 rounds. Authorities said the victims are expected to survive, but some were seriously injured.
Local, state and federal law enforcement agencies combed thousands of miles of wooded areas searching for the shooter, and on Wednesday, Kentucky State Police confirmed that a body had been found near Exit 49 on Interstate 75 in Laurel County.
State police announced Wednesday night that they were offering the McCoys a $25,000 reward for their discovery. The body has been sent to the medical examiner's office for positive identification. Gov. Andy Beshear said Thursday that authorities believe the body is that of a couch.
Kentucky I-75 shooting suspect may still be alive after spending days in woods, marshals say
Authorities are offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of fugitive Joseph Couch. (U.S. Marshals Office)
In a livestream video posted on YouTube on Wednesday, the McCoys were filming their search through a wooded area when Sheila McCoy, 59, complained of a foul odor.
“Oh, Lord, this is awful. Oh my god, this is awful,” she can be heard saying.
The couple identified themselves to officers searching the same area about 12 minutes before the bodies were discovered, told police and friends they were at the scene and were livestreaming the incident on YouTube in case anything happened, former police officer Fred McCoy said.
“I didn't know we'd find him in a condition like this,” he said. “We might have been able to find him at gunpoint.”
This image released by the Mount Vernon Fire Department shows a traffic stop following a shooting on Interstate 75 north of London, Kentucky, on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (Camden Mink/Mount Vernon Fire Department via The Associated Press)
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Fred McCoy said the McCoys decided to help with the search after a date night Friday night.
“We were just a lame old man and an old woman walking through the woods,” he said Thursday, said Fred McCoy, a descendant of the Hatfield-McCoys who runs a small museum about the history of the feud.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
