Kentucky

A couple found the Kentucky highway shooter's remains by being bounty hunters for a week, they say

Published

3 months ago

September 19, 2024

A couple found the Kentucky highway shooter's remains by being bounty hunters for a week, they say

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Days after a shooter attacked an interstate and disappeared, leaving a Kentucky community scared and on guard, Fred and Sheila McCoy decided to lace up their boots for the first time in a long time and spend days in rugged terrain searching until, finally, they found a body.

Kentucky State Police credited Fred and Sheila McCoy, who typically spend their retired days creating YouTube videos about the Hatfield-McCoy feud, with helping investigators find what they believe are the remains of Joseph Couch. Couch, 32, is suspected of firing randomly at vehicles on Interstate 75 on Sept. 7, wounding five people.

Teams of local, state and federal law enforcement had searched tens of thousands of acres of woods since the shooting. Authorities warned residents to be extra vigilant and some schools temporarily shifted to virtual learning.

“For one week we turned into bounty hunters,” Fred McCoy told The Associated Press on Thursday. “The more we was watching the news and saw lockdowns and school closings, the more we were compelled to search for him.”

The discovery of the remains calmed fears in the eastern Kentucky community of London, just a few miles from where the shooter perched above the highway and opened fire with an AR-15. State police said Wednesday night that the McCoys would receive a $25,000 reward for the find.

Once the identification is fully confirmed, it will “bring to a close a pretty scary time in that community and the surrounding communities,” Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said Thursday.

“We have every reason to believe that this is Joseph Couch,” Beshear told reporters at the Kentucky Capitol in Frankfort. “But a final and determinative identification has not yet been possible. There is DNA testing going on right now.”

In a 30-minute YouTube livestream Wednesday, the McCoys are filming in dense woods after they see vultures in the air, and Sheila McCoy says she can smell a foul odor.

“Oh, Lord, this is nasty. Oh, my goodness, this is gross,” Sheila says while warning her husband to watch out for snakes.

At the end of the video, they discover the remains. “Hey, guys, you won’t believe it, we found him, oh, my goodness gracious,” Sheila McCoy says in the video.

Police were also searching the area, and the couple identified themselves to officers about 12 minutes before they found the remains. They’d also warned police and friends they’d be there, and were livestreaming on YouTube in case something went wrong, Fred McCoy said.

“We didn’t know we was going to find him like that,” he said. “We could’ve found him with a gun pointed at us.”

The McCoys live a couple of counties away from where the shooter attacked. They hadn’t gone on a hike in the woods in a long time — Sheila, 59, had previously had back surgery and her husband, 66, had knee surgery — but they decided after a Friday night date to help in the search, said Fred McCoy, himself a retired police officer.

“We were just a crippled old man and crippled old woman walking in the woods,” he said Thursday. Fred McCoy said he is a descendant of a Hatfield-McCoy marriage and they run a small museum related to the history of the feud.

He estimated the remains were about a mile away from where the shooter opened fire. Nearby, police found Couch’s vehicle and an AR-15 last week.

The discovery of the body put nearby residents at ease after more than a week of tension with a gunman on the loose near their homes.

“I feel a huge sense of relief,” said Heather Blankenship, a mother of three who lives near London. She saw the body in the McCoys’ video, which has grown to nearly a half-million views in less than 24 hours, and even though her anxiety is gone and her sense of normalcy has returned, it’s still sad, she said.

“I’m over here relieved that to me this monster is dead,” but meanwhile, the suspect’s family is grieving, Blankenship said.

Authorities said the shooter fired 20 to 30 rounds, creating chaos. The five victims survived, but some suffered serious injuries.

Authorities said Couch purchased the AR-15 weapon and about 1,000 rounds of ammunition at a London gun store hours before the shooting.

Laurel County Judge-Executive David Westerfield sensed a collective sigh of relief among residents.

“They feel like they can go back to their normal lifestyle,” he said.

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Kentucky

Aaron Bradshaw got the last laugh against his former team

Published

34 minutes ago

December 22, 2024

Press Room

Aaron Bradshaw got the last laugh against his former team

For the first time since November 19, Aaron Bradshaw jogged over to the scorers table for Ohio State, checking in at the 17:46 mark of the first half. As his name was announced over the loudspeakers, though, a roar of boos echoed inside Madison Square Garden. Splitting up with Kentucky seemingly on good terms this offseason during the coaching change, the reaction was a bit of a surprise, but you never know the true emotions of a fanbase until they experience it in real time.

The former Wildcat’s response? Two quick buckets in two minutes, followed by the sixth 3-pointer of his career in the final segment of the first half. Bradshaw would close out with 11 points good for third on the team, shooting 5-6 overall and 1-2 from three with two rebounds, one assist and two steals in 18 minutes.

Given the circumstances and opponent, it was one of the best performances of his career — and undoubtedly a special one for him personally.

What was it like getting Bradshaw back in the lineup for the Buckeyes?

“Missing a 7-footer is always going to hurt,” Bruce Thornton, who finished with a game-high 30 points, said of Bradshaw. “Not a lot of people who are 7-foot are able to make tough shots in the mid-range. His energy and his passion, it’s very contagious. It rubs off on us. We’re just very thankful that he’s back.”

Bradshaw is now averaging 8.4 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 22.3 minutes per contest for the Buckeyes. He returned alongside Ques Glover, who had been previously dealing with an ankle injury and had been out since Nov. 15.

Those two were different-makers in Ohio State’s win with the Buckeyes’ bench outscoring the Wildcats 26-11 on Saturday.

“I thought it was a significant boost,” Jake Diebler said. “We felt like going into this year depth was going to be a real strength for us, and we haven’t had an opportunity to play with that depth much of this year. It’s also impacted practice and building because there’s still a lot of newness in this program, new staff, new players, new system, and it’s impacted our growth a little.”

You can see just how much that one meant to Bradshaw by watching OSU’s postgame celebration from the floor at MSG.

He wanted this one bad, and to his credit, he was a big reason for the win.

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Kentucky

Aaron Bradshaw will suit up against the Kentucky Wildcats

Published

8 hours ago

December 21, 2024

Press Room

Aaron Bradshaw will suit up against the Kentucky Wildcats

The Kentucky Wildcats are in New York City about to tip off against Ohio State in Madison Square Garden, and they will be facing a former Wildcat Aaron Bradshaw, who is taking the floor for the first time in a month. The Buckeyes get some much-needed help on the glass as a team that struggles rebounding.

The Buckeyes are a great shooting team, and getting Bradshaw back on the floor really helps compliment that by adding some size. Bradshaw has been held out since November 19 due to personal reasons. The Wildcats will still be without backup guard Kerr Kriisa, but last game out, a boost from starting point guard Lamont Butler in his return really helped.

Bradshaw will be coming off the bench for the Buckeyes, and may even play limited minutes given it will be his first game back. Kentucky will need to keep playing good defense against the threes on Saturday, as that and rebounding will be major keys. If the Buckeyes want to hang around, they will need to knock down shots.

It will be interesting to see how Bradshaw meshes in his first game back in month, and it’s clear they have been a little off without him. Mark Pope and the Wildcats will look to get a win on a big stage in Madison Square Garden on Saturday. Bradshaw will look to give Ohio State a major boost down low on the glass.

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Kentucky

KSR Gameday: No. 4 Kentucky vs. Ohio State in Madison Square Garden

Published

16 hours ago

December 21, 2024

Press Room

KSR Gameday: No. 4 Kentucky vs. Ohio State in Madison Square Garden

Good morning, folks! It’s Gameday once again for the Kentucky men’s basketball team. On today’s schedule? A matchup against the Ohio State Buckeyes (7-4) up in Madison Square Garden as part of the CBS Sports Classic. The No. 4 ranked Wildcats opened as a 5.5-point favorite on Friday but have since been bet up to an 8.5-point favorite. Considering Ohio State fans have a football team playing at home in the College Football Playoff this evening, MSG should be nothing but a sea of blue.

A key for Kentucky will be running Ohio State off the three-point line. The Buckeyes are 4-1 this season when hitting 10 or more made triples (the lone loss in overtime) and just 3-3 when under that mark. OSU hasn’t made at least 10 threes since Nov. 29. Freshman John Mobley Jr. is one of the best outside shooters in the country (53.6% on 5.1 three-point attempts per game) though. Bruce Thornton (14.8 PPG) and Devin Royal (15.6 PPG) will be tough to slow down.

But Ohio State is without Meechie Johnson (9.1 PPG) and Aaron Bradshaw‘s status is still uncertain as of this morning. The former Wildcat hasn’t played since Nov. 19. Kentucky will be the better team regardless of whether he plays or not though. Our Staff Predictions are nothing but double-digit wins for the ‘Cats across the board. Lamont Butler‘s ankle had another full week of good rest.

Make sure to enjoy this game a little bit more, BBN. Kentucky won’t play again for another 10 days after this one. Let Kerr Kriisa get you excited for what should be a fun night of hoops “in Big Apple”.

Time: 5:30 p.m. ET
Television: CBS (Brad Nessler, Bill Raftery, Jenny Dell)
Streaming: Paramount+
Home Radio: UK Sports Network – 630 WLAP, iHeart Radio (Tom Leach, Goose Givens)
Online Radio: iHeart
Satellite Radio: Sirius 158 or 191
Live Stats: StatBroadcast

You can also follow the game via our new LIVE BLOG on the website, which will begin an hour before tipoff, or join the conversation on KSBoard.

3 new portal commits

It was another busy day in the world of the transfer portal. Kentucky football received three commitments yesterday, two of them happening back-to-back. Alabama WR Kendrick Law (1 year of eligibility), Nebraska RB Dante Dowdell (2 years), and Wyoming DT Jaden Williams (1 year) will all join the program in 2025.

All three are quality additions to the roster. Law is a former Top 100 high school recruit with track athlete speed, Dowdell ran for 614 yards and 12 touchdowns this past season as a sophomore, and Williams committed to UK despite having a Georgia visit lined up for this weekend. Not a bad Friday haul in the portal for the staff.

That puts Kentucky at 11 committed transfer prospects so far this offseason, a group that ranks 12th in the country and fifth in the SEC, per On3.

OG Josh Braun
OT Alex Wollschlaeger
OL Wallace Unamba
LB Landyn Watson
EDGE Sam Greene
WR J.J. Hester
QB Zach Calzada
TE Henry Boyer
WR Kendrick Law
RB Dante Dowdell
DT Jaden Williams

Belmont gives Kentucky WBB a scare

It was a Christmas-themed night in Memorial Coliseum on Friday, but Belmont was trying to bring some coal to Kentucky women’s basketball this holiday season. Belmont even led 39-33 at the break. But a 20-point second half from star point guard Georgia Amoore fueled the No. 16 Wildcats (10-1) past the Bruins 84-78. She finished with 23 points, five assists, and five rebounds while shooting 7-13 from deep.

Amelia Hassett (16 points, 11 rebounds), Dazia Lawrence (15 points, five assists, five rebounds), Teonni Key (12 points, five rebounds), and Clara Strack (12 points, five rebounds) all finished in double-figures for the ‘Cats. UK shot 49.2 percent from the field and 40 percent from deep, both the second-highest marks of the season.

Click here for a full recap. Make sure to check out KSR’s Rapid Reaction from the win while you’re at it.

Subscribe to the KSR YouTube Channel for press conferences, interviews, original shows, fan features, and exclusive content.

Andrew Carr gets a New York slice

One of my favorite bits from The Office is early on in the show when Michael Scott visits New York. He hypes up his favorite “local” pizza joint, only for the camera to pan to him running towards a Sbarro. A classic moment. Kentucky forward Andrew Carr recreated that hilarious scene while in New York with his teammates.

Flawlessly executed, Andrew.

After Notre Dame took care of Indiana 27-17 last night in the first-ever College Football Playoff game, we’ve got three more on the schedule today. The FCS Championship semifinals are also on the docket if you’re a true football sicko. But the CFP is all any will be talking about today (other than a big Kentucky basketball win, of course).