Manhunt for Highway Shooter Stretches Into 3rd Day

As a grueling manhunt stretched into a third day Monday for a suspect in an interstate shooting that struck 12 vehicles and wounded five people, authorities vowed to keep up a relentless search as the stress level remained high for a rural area where some schools canceled classes, the AP reports. Authorities have been searching a rugged, hilly area of southeastern Kentucky since Saturday evening, when a gunman began shooting at drivers on Interstate 75 near London, a small city of about 8,000 people located about 75 miles south of Lexington. The search was temporarily suspended once darkness fell Sunday night, but was set to resume Monday morning. "We're not going to quit until we do lay hands on him," Laurel County Sheriff John Root said Sunday night.

Joseph A. Couch, 32, was named first as a person of interest and later as a suspect in the shooting after authorities said they recovered his SUV on a service road near the crime scene. They later found an AR-15 rifle in a wooded area nearby that they believe was used in the shooting, said Deputy Gilbert Acciardo, a spokesperson for the local sheriff's office. A phone believed to be Couch's was also found by law enforcement, but the battery had been taken out. Acciardo said it appears the attacker planned the shooting for that area because the location is very remote and the terrain is hilly, rocky, and hard to navigate. A state trooper described the extensive search area as "walking in a jungle" with machetes needed to cut through thickets of woods.

Authorities said Couch purchased the weapon and about 1,000 rounds of ammunition Saturday morning in London. Couch has a military background, having served in the National Guard for at least four years, said Capt. Richard Dalrymple of the Laurel County Sheriff's Office. Authorities initially said nine vehicles were struck by gunfire, but later increased that number to 12, saying some people did not realize their cars had been hit by bullets until they arrived home. They said the gunman fired a total of 20 to 30 rounds. With the gunman still at large, numerous area school districts canceled classes for Monday. Residents were urged to lock doors, keep porch lights on and monitor security cameras.

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