LAUREL COUNTY, Ky. — UPDATE: Kentucky State Police held a press conference Wednesday night after a body was found earlier in the day near where Joseph Couch was accused of shooting and wounding five people.
According to a KSP commissioner, at around 3:30 p.m., police were told about an unidentified body near Exit 49. KSP said troopers noticed vultures circling in the air and detected a strong odor of decomposing flesh.
Soon after, troopers heard voices in the woods and identified themselves. Troopers then asked the individuals whose voices they heard to identify themselves, KSP said.
KSP said troopers and personnel are still processing the scene as of Wednesday night. The department also said it found items with the body that "at this time" they feel belong to Couch.
"We're very confident that this brings the closure in the search of Joseph Couch," KSP said.
The body will be sent for positive identification on Thursday, the department said. The department said the investigation is still ongoing.
"I wish we could've took him alive, it just so happens that we didn't," said John Root with the Laurel County Sheriff's Office.
On Thursday, Kentucky leaders sent a release that said the body was still unidentified. However, the release said it is believed to be Couch, and results from a soft-tissue DNA test were inconclusive due to the body's extreme decomposition. To identify it, medical examiners will need to test DNA extracted from the bone. It said the process could take up to 48 hours.
"At this time, we are able to confirm that the autopsy revealed the cause of death to be a wound consistent with a self-inflicted gunshot to the head,” said Chief Medical Examiner Dr. William Ralston in the release. “In addition, we are performing a toxicology test to verify if any drugs were present.”
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Kentucky State Police said Wednesday that a body was found near where Joseph Couch was accused of shooting and wounding five people in Laurel County.
Police said on social media that the body was found near Exit 49, where law enforcement increased patrols following the Sept. 7 shooting. Kentucky State Police said authorities were working to identify the body.
Wednesday marked the 11th day of a large manhunt that took authorities through more than 28,000 acres of Daniel Boone National Forest. Authorities said they believed Couch to be hiding in the wooded area. Soon after the shooting, police said they believed Couch had acted alone.
Soon after the shooting police said they found Couch's car with a gun and ammunition nearby, as well as a phone without a battery. Authorities said he had previously sent a text saying he was going to "kill a lot of people" to a person, who then warned dispatchers.
As the search for Couch continued, police said they increased patrols during high school football games. Kentucky State Police also said they were led to a home in Laurel County. However, law enforcement said Couch was not found at the home.
He was formally charged with five counts of attempted murder and five counts of first-degree assault, and authorities are offering a $35,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.
Anyone with information about his location should reach out to the Laurel County Sheriff's Office at 606-864-6600.