Kentucky I-75 Shooting Suspect Could Yet Be Found Alive After Days in the Woods, According to the US Marshal

Local and state officials in Kentucky, as well as federal investigators, continued to search for alleged I-75 gunman and fugitive Joseph A. Couch on Thursday in a highly wooded area of the state’s southeastern region.

Couch, 32, is accused of firing dozens of bullets toward I-75 near exit 49 in Laurel County on September 7, hurting five persons from a position in a forested area alongside the freeway.

“I plan to kill a lot of people. “Well, try,” Couch allegedly wrote in a text message about 5 p.m. on September 7.

“I’ll kill myself afterward,” he stated in an affidavit obtained by Fox News Digital.

Jeremy Honaker, acting U.S. Marshal for the Eastern District of Kentucky, described the region where investigators are looking for the fugitive as “extremely wooded and rural,” with “bumps up against the [Daniel] Boone National Forest.”

“We’re just there to assist,” he said of the USMS, adding that the FBI, together with the Laurel County Sheriff’s Office, London Police Department, and Kentucky State Police, had “taken on a lot of the assistance” in the search for Couch.

“It’s a joint effort to try to get a dangerous person off the street,” Honaker informed the crowd.

The U.S. Marshal also stated that Couch has “a possibility” of surviving on his own in the southern Kentucky woods, citing his military training. Honaker was unsure about Couch’s survival skills in the woods. Couch served in the National Guard.

Authorities believe Couch fired between 20 and 30 bullets on September 7.

Officers discovered Couch’s Cobalt AR-15 weapon and a little silver SUV, but he is still on the run.

A Center Target Firearms staffer informed police officials that Couch had paid nearly $3,000 on the AR-15 and 1,000 rounds of ammo.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear met with law enforcement on Thursday as part of the search for Couch. He stated that four shooting victims had been released from the hospital, and the fifth was likely to live.

Authorities have issued five arrest warrants for Couch, one for each wounded shooting victim, charging him with attempted murder and assault, according to the sheriff’s office. It’s offering a $25,000 prize for information that leads to Couch.

Anyone with information on Couch’s whereabouts is asked to call the Laurel County Sheriff at 606-864-6600 or the United States Marshals at 1-877-WANTED-2.\

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