Police say they believe they have found the body of a suspect in a highway shooting that injured five people in Kentucky nearly two weeks ago.
The body was found during a search in Laurel County, along with accessories that led police to conclude it was suspect Joseph Couch, authorities said at a news conference Wednesday evening.
Officials have been searching for Mr. Couch since September 7, when the 32-year-old allegedly shot at motorists on Interstate 75 before disappearing into a remote area.
Police said they were still working to formally identify the remains.
Officials said the body was found shortly after 15:30 local time (20:30 BST) when two state police officers and two civilians clashed while searching for the suspect.
Both residents and officials are attracted to the area by the soaring vultures.
Officials said it was still unclear how long the body had been in the woods and how the victim died.
They said they plan to conduct an autopsy to determine the cause of death.
An unidentified weapon was also found at the site.
Locals and authorities have been searching an area of about 28,000 acres (43 square miles) in the remote and rugged area near the incident.
“People are very scared,” Laurel County Sheriff John Root said Wednesday.
“That’s not normal in Laurel County, so now that this has been discovered, I’m hopeful that our county can get back to normal.”
The area is about 9 miles (14km) from the city of London in southeastern Kentucky.
Two civilians who helped find Mr. Couch’s suspected remains live-streamed the scene of Fred and Sheila McCoy.
The pair could receive a total reward of $25,000 (£18,900) for helping officials in the investigation.
Mr. Couch is accused of hitting dozens of cars traveling in both directions on the highway during the shooting.
Although all five victims survived the attack, several were seriously injured, including one who was shot in the face.
Officials said last week that text messages Mr. Couch sent just before the shooting showed he intended to harm people.
“I’m going to kill a lot of people,” he texted, according to an arrest affidavit from the Laurel County Sheriff’s Office. “Oh, (I’ll) at least try.”
Officials said Mr. Couch’s family has been cooperative throughout the search.
Schools in the area were closed during the early days of the manhunt.
