Kentucky
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.
13 things more likely to happen than winning the Powerball jackpot
Hoping to win the Powerball jackpot? Here are 13 things more likely to happen than becoming an instant millionaire.
The Kentucky Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at Wednesday, June 3, 2026 winning numbers for each game.
Cash Ball
06-07-14-21, Cash Ball: 11
Check Cash Ball payouts and previous drawings here.
Pick 3
Evening: 7-0-9
Midday: 8-9-3
Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Pick 4
Evening: 2-2-9-3
Midday: 7-8-6-6
Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Powerball
14-16-38-55-64, Powerball: 12, Power Play: 3
Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.
Powerball Double Play
26-28-31-56-64, Powerball: 13
Millionaire for Life
04-13-32-51-55, Bonus: 04
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Courier Journal digital producer. You can send feedback using this form.
Kentucky
Fayette County school board chair, KEA sue to block Kentucky law that would oust current members
LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX NEWS) — Fayette County Board of Education Chair Tyler Murphy and the Kentucky Education Association have filed a lawsuit challenging a newly enacted Kentucky law that would overhaul the governance structure of Fayette County Public Schools and force all current board members out of office at the end of 2026.
The lawsuit names the Commonwealth of Kentucky, the Fayette County Board of Elections and Fayette County election officials as defendants.
At the center of the legal challenge is Senate Bill 4, which lawmakers passed over Gov. Andy Beshear’s veto earlier this year.
Under the law, the seven-member Fayette County Board of Education would be reduced to five district-based seats, the lawsuit reads. The terms of all current board members would end Dec. 31, 2026, and new elections would be held for the restructured board.
The lawsuit argues the law is unconstitutional and asks the court to block its implementation, including any election-related actions tied to the measure.
Court filings contend the legislation unlawfully targets a single school district and interferes with the terms of duly elected local officials. Plaintiffs also argue the law violates provisions of the Kentucky Constitution governing local elections and public officeholders.
Attorneys included exhibits detailing criticism of Murphy and Fayette County Public Schools leadership from state lawmakers, including a petition seeking Murphy’s removal and a letter from state Sen. Chris McDaniel calling for the resignations of Murphy and Superintendent Demetrus Liggins.
The lawsuit seeks a declaration that the law is invalid and requests expedited review from the court due to upcoming election deadlines.
No hearing date had been announced as of Wednesday.
The lawsuit comes as Fayette County Public Schools continues to face scrutiny over budgeting decisions, district spending and governance issues that have drawn attention from state lawmakers over the past year.
In a statement, Representative Matt Lockett criticized Murphy as he highlighted what he stated are district failures under Murphy.
“This lawsuit is nothing more than an attempt to distract from the disaster that Fayette County Public Schools is under Tyler Murphy’s leadership as board chair. Under his watch, the district has spiraled into a financial crisis so severe that it is now seeking to borrow up to $110 million simply to keep the lights on and make it through the school year. Students have been failed. Families have been failed. Teachers and staff have been failed. Taxpayers have been failed. And the Lexington community has been left paying the price for years of mismanagement and poor oversight.
Rather than taking responsibility for the district’s financial failures and focusing on what is best for students, he has chosen to file a lawsuit challenging a law that was duly passed by the General Assembly and enacted through the constitutional process. He may be emboldened by recent rulings by activist judges, but there are no legitimate grounds for overturning a duly enacted statute simply because you can’t do the right thing by this community. The General Assembly has both the authority and the responsibility to establish standards for public offices and governance structures across the Commonwealth.
At a time when Fayette County schools are facing unprecedented financial turmoil, the focus should be on accountability, transparency, and fixing the problems that have brought the district to this point. The only filing Fayette County taxpayers should be expecting from Mr. Murphy is his resignation.”
LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — An Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda has been causing fear around the world, and a Lexington doctor is preparing in the event a case is found in Kentucky.
According to the CDC, there have been 49 deaths and over 300 confirmed cases across the two countries, with more suspected cases still being investigated.
UK Healthcare is working to become a Level 2 Special Pathogen Treatment Center through the National Special Pathogen System, which would allow the facility to treat Ebola patients in-house.
Dr. Nicholas Van Sickels, an infectious disease physician at UK Healthcare, said the current outbreak is serious, but Kentucky residents are not at significant risk.
“Ebola scares people just because of the mortality, the death rate, associated with it and some of the long term consequences when you do survive. Fortunately, the strain that we’re seeing in Eastern (Democratic Republic of Congo) is thought to be not as deadly, but either way it’s a very serious disease. It carries a lot of stigma and fear,” Van Sickels said.
Here in Kentucky, however, is a very safe environment, Dr. Van Sickels said.
Currently, Dr. Van Sickels says UK Healthcare operates as an assessment hospital, meaning it can evaluate patients with symptoms who have traveled to regions with active outbreaks, coordinate testing with the state, and transfer patients to higher-level care centers if needed.
Once the Level 2 designation is complete, UK Healthcare will be the only facility in Kentucky with that capability.
“We’re the only facility in Kentucky that is able to have a level 2 designation once we finish this grant award and get approved,” Dr. Van Sickels said.
In January 2026, UK Healthcare received a grant from the National Emerging Special Pathogens Training and Education Center (NETEC), the governing body of the National Special Pathogen System.
“It’s approximately half a million dollars to transform our institution,” Van Sickels said.
The funding has been used to run simulation drills in coordination with Lexington Fire, EMS, and the state health department. The grant also enabled UK Healthcare to upgrade its protective outerwear, with all seam points covered to provide additional protection. Ebola is transmitted through bodily fluids.
During a recent site visit and simulation, evaluators identified vulnerabilities in the facility’s previous protective suits.
“When we had our site visit and had our stimulation, for example, they said that the seams that we had on our old suits, you could pull and stretch, and that they were rather porous,” Van Sickels said.
Van Sickels had been working on the preparedness project since the beginning of the year.
Citing lessons learned from the 2014 West Africa Ebola epidemic, which spread to the U.S. and resulted in 4 cases and 1 death.
“Ebola 2014 taught a lot of hospitals in the US about high consequence infections, established what is now NETEC, the educating body for our country, uh, about high consequence pathogens,” Van Sickels said.
“We’re constantly wanting to push preparedness, uh, because that is the key to success in evading further outbreaks,” Van Sickels said.
UK Healthcare expects to complete its Level 2 Special Pathogen Treatment Center designation by the end of summer.
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