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11/25 16:50 CST Football coach who went missing before undefeated team's
playoff game is wanted on criminal charges
Football coach who went missing before undefeated team's playoff game is wanted
on criminal charges
BIG STONE GAP, Va. (AP) --- 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
solicit a minor, Virginia State Police said Tuesday.
Police said Travis L. Turner, 46, of Appalachia, Virginia, is wanted on
warrants obtained Monday for five counts of each charge, adding that additional
charges are pending as an investigation continues. They did not share details
about what prompted the charges.
Turner has been missing since last Thursday, when state police special agents
from a Bureau of Criminal Investigation office were sent to his home, not to
arrest him but to talk to him as part of an investigation. As officers traveled
there they were notified that he was gone, police said. The subsequent search
nearby has included drones, dogs and rescue teams, police said.
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 would
list any attorney for him, and records connected to his charges were not made
available by the court or state police.
Turner is the football coach at Union High School in southwest Virginia's Wise
County. Union has strung together 12 straight wins to remain undefeated this
season and advance to a regional final this Saturday.
Before coaching Union's team, Turner was a quarterback at Appalachia High
School, which merged into 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 Travis Turner was in Virginia Tech's 1998 recruiting
class alongside future NFL quarterback Michael Vick, and also went on to play
football at University of Virginia Wise in 1999.
Defensive coordinator Jason Edwards stepped in as interim head coach in Union's
victory over Graham last weekend, according to the Bristol Herald Courier,
which also reported that Bears players didn't want to talk afterward about the
situation involving Turner.
WCYB reported that senior running back Keith Chandler said, "We talked in the
huddle, and we said: ?Listen boys, we're going to have to handle adversity
here. We stick together as brothers here, and we should come out with the
victory.'"
Asked about Turner, Division Superintendent Mike Goforth told the AP in an
emailed statement that Wise County Public Schools is aware of charges filed
"against a staff member who has been on administrative leave" and that the
person isn't allowed to be on school property or have contact with students. He
didn't disclose when or why that leave began, and said school officials
wouldn't comment further because it's an ongoing legal matter involving
personnel.
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