Police now have a description of the man they think is responsible for a series of shootings in the Columbus, OH, area.

The descriptions were linked to the last two incidents linked to the string of shootings.

About 11:20 a.m., two cars on Interstate 71 south of Columbus – one near the Brock Road overpass and one at the nearby Prairie Road overpass – were shot, the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement. Both incidents occurred near mile marker 71 not far from Jeffersonville, OH – 30 miles and two counties away from the site of most of the shootings.

In both cases, witnesses said they saw a white male, between 30 and 40 years of age, on the overpass near a small to mid-size dark-colored sedan.

Police said that evidence at the scene linked the two shootings to the 21 others that have occurred in the Columbus area.

Since the initial incidents, the shooter seems to be moving south.

The last shooting before the Jeffersonville incidents occurred roughly 15 miles north near the crossing of state Route 56 and I-71. The driver in that incident, which occurred Feb. 3, thought his car had been hit by a rock. He discovered the bullet hole after arriving home in Pennsylvania, and contacted police. That bullet was ballistically linked to the case.

Before that, a car driven by area resident Michael Thomas was shot at 12:45 a.m. Jan. 22 in an area south of Columbus at the Franklin-Pickaway county line near the town of Harrisburg. That area is north of Route 56, but roughly 7 miles south of where most of the shootings have taken place.

Thomas said police told him they found a fingerprint and two shell casings in the Lambert Road Overpass, according to local media reports. Thomas also provided valuable information, saying he saw a car on the overpass where the shot was fired from, and a person standing next to the car.

Most of the 23 shootings that have taken place in the area since May 2003 occurred in and around Columbus, OH, many near the southwestern part of I-270.

Only one bullet hit a human target. It struck and killed area resident Gail Knisley Nov. 25, just before the Thanksgiving holiday. Knisley was riding in the car of a friend who was taking her to see a doctor.

At least five commercial motor vehicles have been hit by bullets, according to police and press reports, including a Yellow Freight truck, a UPS delivery truck, a Coca-Cola truck, an 18-wheeler out of Texas and the Virginia-based rig.

The reward being offered for information that leads to an arrest in the case has since risen to $60,000. So far, more than 4,100 tips have been called.

The Franklin County Sheriff’s Department has put out public alerts asking the shooter or shooters to contact them and start a dialog. In addition to the hotline set up for tips - (614) 462-4646 – the Sheriff’s Department has also set up a post office box for the shooter to use to contact authorities. It is PO Box 360562, Columbus, OH, 43236-0562.

--by Mark H. Reddig, associate editor

Mark Reddig can be reached at mark_reddig@landlinemag.com.