LAUREL COUNTY, Ky. — Main Street in London, Kentucky, is mostly quiet again. There's far fewer state police patrolling the road and the helicopters flying overhead in the search for I-75 shooting suspect Joseph Couch have landed.
"It's just a close-knit and friendly town. Great town, actually," Larry Lee said the night the search ended. He moved to town when he met his wife. Now, they raise a boy there together.
"I feel like the people in our community can breathe again," said David Westerfield, Laurel County's judge executive, after Kentucky State Police Commissioner Phillip Burnett declared the manhunt for Couch concluded.
RELATED: 'Inconclusive' | State medical examiner continues work to identify body of suspected I-75 shooter
Days after five people were shot going down interstate 75, KSP have the body of the man they believe is responsible for the tragedy.
As over 100 troopers combed the Daniel Boone National Forest, people in Laurel and surrounding counties had to wonder if Couch could be in the woods outside their own homes.
"Business life, their social life, their personal life.," Westerfield explained. "It was taken away from 'em because of the fear."
The town and county are quieter now. Westerfield feels the relief. Though he'll feel better once the body found Wednesday is officially identified.
"That will give the final peace that people can absolutely go back to their normal lives," he said.
"A lot of fear's gone, lots of people take that deep breath and they're good to go," Lee shared, taking a deep breath himself.
Lee, from the beginning of this search, wanted to go back to his routine juggling fatherhood, teaching and co-owning a sports lounge that's once again alive with familiar faces.
"Just going full force is what I'm ready for," he said. "School's back, events happening again outdoors — cause we do a lot of events outdoors here in London, Kentucky. The chicken festival coming up, I hope it just takes a lot of fear out of everybody and gets us back to normal."
While Westerfield wants that too, he's comfortable looking back with gratitude for the help that poured into the small community during the search.
"It just tells me that Kentucky is a pull-together state," he mused.
He just hopes the Commonwealth never needs to pull together for something like this ever again.
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