LONDON, Ky. — A Kentucky couple was livestreaming their search Wednesday for the man accused of shooting five people on I-75 in Laurel County when they stumbled across a body.
Hours after Fred and Sheila McCoy discovered the body, Kentucky State Police (KSP) said they believe the McCoys had found Joseph Couch, the 32-year-old suspect authorities spent days searching over 28,000 acres of forest hoping to find.
KSP Col. Phillip Burnett Jr. said state troopers and the McCoys saw vultures circling a wooded area just off I-75, near exit 94 where the shooting had taken place on Sept. 7.
The McCoys' livestream showed them trek deep into the wooded area, through what police described as "rough terrain."
As they neared closer to where the birds were seen, the couple smelled something foul.
"Something's dead 'cause I caught a whiff of something," Sheila McCoy says about 12 minutes into the video.
A few minutes later the McCoys ran into the state troopers who informed them they smelled the same odor of decomposition. Fred McCoy identifies himself to troopers as a retired police chief with more than 40 years of experience.
"It might just be an animal," Fred yells to the troopers minutes later, directing them through the woods to their location. "It might just be an animal, but boy it's strong."
Roughly 30 minutes into the livestream, Fred is seen going down a small hill in the tree line before screaming out to police.
"Oh! Got him, here he is!" he shouts. Sheila isn't far behind.
"You found him? Oh my 'Lanta," she calls out. "Oh my 'Lanta, you found him."
State troopers can be heard telling the McCoys not to take any pictures because the area is now a crime scene and the livestream cuts off. In another livestream minutes later, the couple informs viewers they believe they found Couch.
"You won't believe it, we found him," Sheila McCoy says. "We found him. Oh my goodness gracious, that was gross, horrible."
Burnett said the McCoys will receive the $25,000 reward for locating Couch and the body will be sent to Frankfort on Thursday for positive identification.
"We're very confident that this brings the closure in the search of Joseph Couch," he added, saying a gun and other items were found near the body which lead police to believe it is him. "I want to recognize the McCoys. They've been very cooperative with our troopers and provided our troopers with relevant information."
During a late night news conference, Laurel County Sheriff John Root offered kind words for the victims, but also the Couch family.
"[The Couchs] have worked with us...everything we have asked, they have done," he said. "I hope and pray to god my children take the right paths. The family can not be blamed for the misfortune this man caused."
ABC News has confirmed the authenticity of the McCoy's livestream.
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