BIG STONE GAP, Virginia – A Virginia high school football coach who disappeared days before his undefeated team’s playoff game is being sought on charges of possessing child sexual abuse material and using a computer to entice a minor, Virginia State Police said Tuesday.
Police said 46-year-old Travis L. of Appalachia, Virginia. Turner is wanted on warrants obtained Monday for five counts of each charge, he said, adding that additional charges are pending as the investigation continues. He did not share details about what led to the charges.
Turner has been missing since Thursday, when state police special agents from the Bureau of Criminal Investigation office were dispatched to his home, not to arrest him but to talk to him as part of the investigation. Police said that as soon as officers arrived there, they were informed that he was gone. Police said a subsequent search of the neighborhood involved drones, dogs and rescue teams.
The Associated Press left a message seeking comment Tuesday at a phone number associated with Turner. The court did not yet have a case docket that listed an attorney for him, and records related to his charges were not made available by the court or the state police.
Turner is the football coach at Union High School in Wise County, southwest Virginia. Union has won 12 in a row to remain undefeated this season and reach the regional finals this Saturday.
Before coaching Union’s team, Turner was the quarterback at Appalachia High School, which merged with Union High School in 2011. His father, Tom Turner, was also his high school football coach. Tom Turner was inducted into the Virginia High School Hall of Fame in 2005.
Online records indicate that Travis Turner was in Virginia Tech’s 1998 recruiting class with future NFL quarterback Michael Vick and also went on to play football at Virginia Wise University in 1999.
Defensive coordinator Jason Edwards stepped in as interim head coach in the Union’s win over Graham last weekend, according to the Bristol Herald Courier, which also reported Bears players did not want to talk about the situation involving Turner afterward.
WCYB reported that senior running back Keith Chandler said, “We talked in the crowd, and we said: ‘Listen boys, we’ve got to handle adversity here. We stick together like brothers here, and we’ve got to come out with a win.'”
Asked about Turner, Division Superintendent Mike Goforth told the AP in an email statement that Wise County Public Schools is “aware of the charges filed against a staff member who is on administrative leave” and that the individual is not allowed to be on school property or have contact with students. He did not disclose when or why the leave began and said school officials would not comment further because it was a legal matter involving personnel.
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