YouTube sleuth couple who found Kentucky highway shooter’s body are given massive payday

The Kentucky couple who livestreamed the moment they discovered the remains of a wanted gunman are cashing in on their find.

Sheila and Fred McCoy filmed themselves as they trekked through thick brush and climbed over branches in the Daniel Boone National Forest on September 18 before finally finding a body.

Two weeks earlier, on September 7, 32-year-old Army veteran Joseph Couch shot at unsuspecting motorists on Interstate 75 with an AR-style semiautomatic rifle, wounding five people.

Authorities believed the suspected shooter may have been hiding in the wooded area and offered a $35,000 reward for any information leading to his arrest.

The McCoys received part of the $10,000 reward on Tuesday and officials said they will receive the remainder of their payout in installments.

Sheila and Fred McCoy filmed themselves discovering the wanted gunman’s body in the Daniel Boone National Forest

“It was a life-changing event for me,” Fred said WKYT. I said [to Shelia] How about a date night, we’ll get something to eat and then we’ll find this guy.’

“The good Lord just told us that we had a feeling we were going to find this body.”

Sheila said their mission was to find Couch, convince him to turn himself in and let him know no one had died.

They had scoured the woods for days in an attempt to track down the suspected shooter, who was charged with five counts of attempted murder and five counts of first-degree assault over the shooting.

Eventually, they saw dozens of vultures circling a certain part of the forest, with Fred commenting, “At least one of them seemed to have something, so they’re feeding on something.”

As they continued their search, the couple noticed a foul odor, which they also began to follow.

Sheila (left) said their mission was to find Couch, convince him to turn himself in and let him know no one had died

Officials said they will receive the remainder of their payout in installments

“Something is dead because I have the smell of something,” Sheila says in the video.

“There’s something here, we’re going to find it, we’re going to find it,” agreed Fred, a retired police chief.

But at first the couple thought they might find a dead animal or carcass that the suspect may have eaten to survive.

But they soon noticed that Kentucky State Police were searching a nearby area, and after about a half hour of searching, Fred shouted, “Oh, I’ve got him here!”

“He’s gone backwards!” Fred asked, to which his wife replied, “Did you find him?” Oh my Lanta!’ You hear them repeat the phrase several times in the clip.

We then see the couple descending a slope to where the body was, at which point a third voice – presumably a cop – can be heard telling them not to take any photos.

Authorities have alleged that Couch, a former member of the U.S. Army Reserves, fired 20 to 30 shots on September 7 around 5:30 p.m.

Couch (pictured) was charged with five counts of attempted murder and five counts of first-degree assault for the shooting for firing an assault rifle on a highway

Vehicles were parked on the side of the highway with shattered windows and visible bullet holes

When officers arrived on scene, they noticed several vehicles parked on the side of the highway, with broken windows and visible bullet holes, the Courier-Journal reported.

Fortunately, no one was killed in the rampage, but Rebecca Puryear, who was shot in the right arm across her chest, told the Lexington Herald-Leader she is grateful to be alive.

Another bullet burst into fragments when she hit the door of her Toyota Camry, also wounding her left arm.

It was later revealed that Couch sent a chilling text message to the mother of his child, informing her that he was going to “kill a lot of people” and “then commit suicide.”

After receiving the messages, the woman called 911 and was later interviewed by police.