LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Kentucky State Police continue the search for 32-year-old Joseph Couch, accused of opening fire on Interstate 75 nine days ago.

Authorities have been searching a rugged, hilly area of southeastern Kentucky since Sept. 7, when Couch is accused of shooting at drivers on I-75 near London, a small city of about 8,000 people located about 75 miles south of Lexington.

Police believe Couch is somewhere in Daniel Boone National Forest, where he was last seen. So far, authorities have searched more than 28,000 acres on land with helicopters and drones. The terrain of the forest is making the search difficult.

"We've got the right people. We've got the right equipment," KSP Master Trooper Scottie Pennington, a spokesman for the London state police post, said Monday. "It's just the Daniel Boone National Forest is a tough adversary, and Mr. Couch has ... done a great job concealing himself."

Couch is accused of firing 20-30 rounds at drivers, five of whom were shot. Four have been released from the hospital already, and the fifth remains hospitalized but is expected to survive. 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.

The 911 calls revealed victims were shot in the hip, elbow, face and chest. While tending to victims, law enforcement also tried finding the shooter.

"I'm going to kill a lot of people. Well try at least," Couch wrote in the text message, according to the warrant affidavit filed in court. In a separate text message, Couch wrote, "I'll kill myself afterwards," the affidavit says.

Couch was named a person of interest and later a suspect after police recovered his SUV with a rifle case inside on a service road near the crime scene. They later found a semi-automatic weapon 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.

Couch most recently lived in Woodbine, a small community about 20 miles south of the shooting scene.  

Pennington said troopers are being brought in from around the state to aid the manhunt. He 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 in London on the morning of the shooting. Couch has a military background, said Capt. Richard Dalrymple of the Laurel County Sheriff's Office. He said Couch served in the National Guard from March 2013 to January 2019 as a combat engineer who was a private when he left and had no deployments.

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