The Union High School community has reacted after the school’s longtime football coach, Travis Turner, went missing amid charges of child pornography and soliciting a minor.
Turner, 46, disappeared on Thursday, November 20, as his undefeated Union High football team was making a run in the state playoffs.
“It was a shock to us,” Katherine Blair, 49, who attended high school with Turner, told The New York Times in a story published on Tuesday, November 25. “All the football players looked up to him. He was like a father figure to them.”
Turner had coached at Union High School since 2011, where he was also a physical education teacher.
Wife of Missing High School Coach Deletes Social Media Amid His Disappearance
Blair described Turner as “a good guy,” and said the circumstances surrounding his disappearance have left the area stunned.
“When he went from missing to a fugitive, we were like, ‘What?,’” she said.
Bronson Singh, 19, a former Union High student who had Turner as a teacher, told the Times, “It’s just about the only thing anyone’s talking about right now.”
Turner came from a prestigious family in the rural Virginia area, the son of Virginia High School League Hall of Fame football coach, Tom Turner.
Tom won six state football titles during his career at Appalachia High School, one as a player and five as a head coach.
Travis was the quarterback on three of his father’s state title teams.
The Bristol Herald Courier named Travis their Prep Football Coach of the Year in 2021, describing him as “a head coach who doesn’t show much emotion – a stone-cold expression coupled with his laser-like focus as each play unfolds.”
Travis credited much of his coaching success to watching his dad to the job for decades.
“I was able to see how he could get the most out of kids,” Travis said. “That’s one thing my dad did – he could take a 160-pound player and put him the defensive or offensive line and he would play like he was 300 pounds. Guys would run through a brick wall for him. You always want to be able to get the best out of kids, put them in the best situations where they play well, play confident and they’re willing to do anything to help the team. He was always about the team and preaching the team concept.”
Travis was officially listed as an “endangered missing person” on Saturday, November 22.
The football coach fled his family’s home on November 20 as agents from the Bureau of Criminal Investigation were on their way to question him about an open investigation.
Wise County Public Schools, who employed Travis, announced an unnamed staff member was under investigation on Friday, November 21.
Players of Missing High School Coach React to His Mysterious Disappearance
“At this time, a staff member has been placed on administrative leave with pay while an external agency reviews an allegation that was reported to us,” Wise County Public Schools said in a statement. “This is standard procedure and not a determination of wrongdoing. The division cannot comment further.”
After an arrest warrant was obtained on Monday, November 24, Travis was charged with five counts of child pornography and five counts of using a computer to solicit a minor, the Virginia State Police revealed on November 25.
Union will host rival Ridgeview High School in the VHSL Region 2D Championship game on Saturday, November 29.
In the meantime, authorities said Travis remains a “fugitive” and additional charges against the head coach are pending.
