On Sunday evening, April 28, 2024, Kentucky State Police troopers responded to a welfare check at a Goochland Cave Road home in Mount Vernon and found 43-year-old Joshua L. Dooley deceased inside his residence from apparent gunshot wounds. The Rockcastle County Coroner pronounced Dooley dead at the scene, and his body was taken to the State Medical Examiner’s Office for autopsy.

Investigators quickly identified 49-year-old Clayton Duane Cox, also of Mount Vernon, as the primary suspect. A manhunt described Cox as armed and dangerous; he was located and arrested by KSP troopers at about 9:15 PM on Monday, April 29, 2024, and lodged in the Rockcastle County Detention Center. Cox faces charges including murder, possession of a handgun by a convicted felon, and tampering with physical evidence. The investigation is being led by a Kentucky State Police detective with assistance from the Rockcastle County Sheriff’s Office, EMS, and the Coroner’s office.

Dooley is remembered as a father and brother who enjoyed the outdoors, working on cars, and new phone technology. Does anyone have information about Joshua Dooley or details from that weekend that could help the ongoing investigation?