LAUREL COUNTY, Ky. — Additional DNA testing has confirmed the body found off I-75 in Laurel County is that of suspected gunman Joseph Couch.
Kentucky State Police (KSP) spent days searching over 28,000 acres of the Daniel Boone National Forest looking for Couch. A couple helped authorities locate the body on Wednesday while livestreaming their search of the forest.
The body was sent to Frankfort for proper identification, however Chief Medical Examiner Dr. William Ralston said Thursday that a soft tissue DNA test came back "inconclusive" and more DNA testing of the bone was needed to get confirmation.
An autopsy revealed Couch has shot himself. Officials are still waiting for a toxicology report to come back as well.
“We appreciate everyone involved in the search and are grateful no one else has been hurt,” Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said on Friday. “We will continue to be there for those injured as well as the Laurel County community as they recover from this tragic situation.”
KSP Commissioner Phillip Burnett said police found items near the body which led them to believe it was Couch's and ended the manhunt for him hours after it was found. Friday, Burnett said the manhunt was one of the largest law enforcement responses he's ever seen in his nearly 30-year career in policing.
Now the community is hoping to return to some sense of normalcy.
"I feel like the people in our community can breathe again," David Westerfield, Laurel County's judge executive, told WHAS11 on Thursday. "Business life, their social life, their personal life -- it was taken away from 'em because of the fear."
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