SEYMOUR, IN (WAVE) – Less than 48 hours after a nationwide manhunt started, police have found the body of a man at the center of it.
Around 7:30 pm Monday, Indiana State Police Trooper Chris Lockman pulled over 35-year-old John Michael Fish off of I-65 at the 50 mile marker in Seymour.
Police says that Fish fired at Trooper Lockman, who in turn fired a shot. No one was hurt and Fish then ran away.
From the sky and from the ground, police searched all night long on Monday and continued searching on Tuesday and Wednesday.
With Wednesday's clear and mild conditions, the lead investigator wanted to go up in the air one more time to search the area. Around 1:30 Wednesday afternoon, they discovered a body in a wooded, remote field about half a mile away from where everything started Monday night.
The coroner's office would later confirm the body is that of John Michael Fish.
"They're like there's a dead body in your back yard and I probably had 50 phone calls while I was at work," said Sandy Hoene who lives not far from where Fish's body was discovered.
Hoene says she actually wasn't surprised; she feared all along that the huge, empty field with nothing more than train tracks and an overpass would be a prime destination for a man on the run.
"There's no way to get back there. Everything from behind the house back on is pretty secluded back there and unless you know the roads or know where it is, I mean I'm sure he probably thought he was way out in the country when he truly wasn't," she told WAVE 3 News.
Police decided to search again from the sky Wednesday, since the weather was good, and around 1:30, they made the discovery.
"They were able to land the helicopter very close to where the body was located. And there was a pathway or a trail that was accessible with a 4 wheel drive," said Indiana State Police Sgt. Noel Houze.
The coroner would confirm that the body is that of 35-year-old John Michael Fish.
"He died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound," Sgt. Houze said.
Investigators believe Fish shot himself a short time after he shot at and ran from the scene.
"As cold as it was Monday night, I would say it probably happened Monday night because it would have been awfully cold to spend the whole night out there and part of the next day," Sgt. Houze said.
Officers thought he may have tried to make it to Indianapolis, but later discovered he had family and friends in Seymour. In fact, his mother was briefly staying at the Knights Inn.
"I feel horrible for his family because regardless they are still suffering a loss," Hoene said.
And now that a massive nationwide manhunt has ended, a small community is also trying to heal.
"There's no normal after something like that happens , it's always remembered," Hoene said.
"You don't like to find out that there's been a body back there for a day or so that you didn't know about," neighbor Toni Monroe said.
Fish was released from prison in September of 2010 after serving a 6 years of a 20 year robbery sentence from a conviction in 2004.
Fish received substantial credit for good behavior, after he earned a GED, Associates and Bachelors degree, as well as graduating from a faith and character based program.
The robbery sentences were from Jackson, Hancock, and Marion Counties in Indiana.
Local police told WAVE 3 they believe Fish was actually on his way to see his mom, who was staying at a hotel just two doors down from where the shoot-out took place with police.
Hotel management say his mom was visiting from Indianapolis, and checked out Tuesday afternoon.
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