Manhunt intensifies for Kentucky highway shooting suspect who evaded police

A grueling manhunt for the suspect wanted in a highway shooting spree stretched into its fifth day as authorities said they believe he retreated deep into a forested swath of southeastern Kentucky with no indication he has fled elsewhere.

The search for Joseph A. Couch, a former Army reservist, has used helicopters and drones equipped with infrared technology, while special response teams and trained dogs are tracking him across thousands of acres likened to a jungle. Troopers are hacking through thick vegetation with machetes and scouring the sandstone cliffsides and caves for any sign they're advancing closer.

Officials said Couch, 32, wounded five people Saturday evening in what appeared to be a random attack, and they fear he is determined to kill.

As efforts continued Thursday, law enforcement officials have said they are asking the public for tips of any sightings of Couch and maintain he must be desperate and dehydrated if he remains alive in the woods.

“If he’s dead or alive,” Kentucky State Police Master Trooper Scottie Pennington told reporters Tuesday, “it’s our job to try to find him.”

A dire text warning

At about 5 p.m. Saturday, a woman who shares a child with Couch called dispatchers in Laurel County relaying a chilling message.

“I’m going to kill a lot of people. Well try at least,” Couch wrote to her, according to an arrest affidavit.

He followed up: “I’ll kill myself afterwards.”

A half-hour later, dispatchers were flooded with multiple reports from motorists on Interstate 75, about 8 miles north of the rural community of London. The callers were frantic.

“My foot got shot,” one person said.

Another could be heard telling a companion: “Take deep breaths. Take deep breaths. ... I love you.”

And in another snippet: “I’m with a lady shot in the side, putting pressure on.”

The Laurel County Sheriff’s Office would later determine that at least 12 vehicles were struck, and some drivers were unaware of the damage until they arrived at their destinations. Five people sustained gunshot wounds, some to the face, arms and chest, none of which were life-threatening, police said.

They believe as many as 20 to 30 rounds may have been fired.

The same day, they had a person of interest. And not before long, arrest warrants had been issued for Couch on five counts of attempted murder and five counts of first-degree assault.

Trail of evidence

An abandoned silver Toyota SUV was parked on a U.S. Forest Service road.

Law enforcement officers found the vehicle at about 7:55 p.m. Saturday and determined it was registered to Couch — a “lucky break,” Sheriff’s Deputy Gilbert Acciardo later told reporters.

An AR-15-style semiautomatic rifle was also found near the SUV, close to where Couch is believed to have perched on the cliffside during the rampage. The vehicles were hit from a “steep angle,” with bullet holes consistent with that type of rifle, the affidavit said.

“You could have shot down upon the interstate from that wooded location,” Acciardo said.

In addition, investigators collected a gun case and a magazine with ammunition and an Army-style duffel bag with Couch’s name in black marker.

But where was Couch?

That first evening, dozens of law enforcement officers searched for hours in the dangerous terrain before they resumed again Sunday morning.

By then, the public had been warned about Couch: A photocopied image of him slightly smiling was shared online by authorities who said he should be considered “armed and dangerous.” Residents were urged to lock their doors, but police believe that he didn’t get far and that he most likely remains within a rugged perimeter of Daniel Boone National Forest.

“There’s so many people that have eyes on this investigation around the world that now we should have gotten a pretty good tip that he exited the woods,” Pennington told reporters 72 hours into the operation. “We haven’t got that.”

The goal, he said, is simple: wear Couch down, “similar to a hide-and-seek.”

Motive for attack

Couch legally obtained the semiautomatic rifle and 1,000 rounds of ammunition Saturday morning from Center Target Firearms, a London gun store, according to the arrest affidavit. He paid $2,914.40.

What prompted him to carry out the attack wasn’t immediately clear, and officials say there is no indication he was targeting anyone specifically or working with others.

A person who answered a phone belonging to Couch’s mother hung up when NBC News called.

Meanwhile, details from Couch’s life have emerged as local, state and federal agencies band together to locate him.

He was in the Army Reserve from 2013 to 2019 and served as a combat engineer before he was honorably discharged, state police and a military spokesperson said. London Mayor Randall Weddle told NBC News that Couch was never deployed, adding that family members also informed investigators that he was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Amid the search, authorities went to his home in Woodbine, about 23 miles from the shooting site, to collect evidence.

His criminal record consists of a dismissal in March of a misdemeanor charge of making a terroristic threat that involved an argument with a man with a dog, as well as at least one alleged traffic violation, local prosecutors said.

The text messages Couch reportedly sent Saturday after he bought a firearm suggest a fragile state of mind.

With law enforcement uncertain about Couch’s whereabouts, schools in Laurel County remain closed out of precaution, and some businesses are offering only drive-thru service.

Authorities are pleading for people to call in with tips; a reward leading to his capture has climbed to $35,000.

The search by foot remains daunting, Pennington said, as temperatures have stayed above 80 degrees during the day. Rain is forecast in the region over the next few days, as well. For officers, every knocked-over tree “that doesn’t look right” is a potential clue. Even candy bar wrappers left behind are thought of as evidence, Pennington said.

“I hope he doesn’t have water, and I hope he doesn’t have food," Pennington said at a news conference Tuesday. “I hope he’s worn out and eventually walks out of the forest.”