A missing football coach in Virginia who is wanted on multiple child pornography charges was last seen walking into a wooded area with a gun, his family’s attorney said in a recent statement.
Travis Turner, 46, the head coach of Union High School in Big Stone Gap, Virginia, has been missing since November 20. He reportedly left his home in Appalachia, a town of less than 2,000 people, to walk into a “heavily wooded and mountainous area,” attorney Adrian Collins said in a statement obtained by WCYB.
“The last known contact the family had with Travis occurred on or about Thursday, Nov. 20, after he left his residence to walk in the woods with a firearm,” the statement said. It added that no warrants had been issued at the time of his disappearance.
When Turner failed to return home that evening, his wife contacted local law enforcement. She was told she needed to wait 24 hours before filing a missing-person report, according to the statement. She submitted the report to the Virginia State Police the following day.
Five days after Turner vanished, authorities announced 10 warrants charging him with five counts of possession of child pornography and five counts of using a computer to solicit a minor. Additional charges are expected, and Turner is now considered a fugitive, Virginia State Police said.
Turner, who has led the Union High School Bears since 2011, went missing as his undefeated team prepared for a playoff game. Police said investigators had returned to his home in Appalachia, a town of fewer than 2,000 residents, on November 20 to speak with him “as part of the early stages of an investigation,” and that they were not seeking to arrest him at the time.
Turner’s wife, Leslie Caudill Turner, spoke out after charges were filed, telling The Daily Mail that“none of that is true.”
“He’s a good dad and a good husband, and we want him home. That’s it,” she said. “I don’t know anything. I don’t know anything. I’m sorry.”
Virginia State Police said they have launched an extensive search across Wise County, deploying drones, K-9 teams, and ground crews. Family and friends have also conducted their own searches, though they said efforts have been hampered by weather and the need to avoid disrupting the official search. Turner was last seen wearing a gray sweatshirt, sweatpants, and glasses, according to the state’s missing-person database.
State police and the Bureau of Criminal Investigation continue to search for Turner. Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to contact the Virginia State Police at (276) 228-3131.
