The family of missing high school football coach Travis Turner now claims he left his house with a firearm before his disappearance.
“He is believed to have entered a heavily wooded and mountainous area. At which point, no warrants had been issued for his arrest,” said Adrian Collins, an attorney representing the Turner family, in a statement released on Friday, November 28.
According to Collins, Turner’s last known contact with his family was on November 20, when “he left his residence to walk in the woods with a firearm.”
Turner, the head coach at Union High School in Big Stone Gap, Virginia, was being investigated for child pornography and soliciting a minor prior to his disappearance.
Missing High School Football Coach Was Being Investigated for Child Porn
He’s been missing since November 20.
“When Travis did not return home that evening, his wife promptly notified local law enforcement. She was advised that a missing-person report could not be taken until at least 24 hours had passed,” the statement continued. “The following day, she filed a missing-person report with the Virginia State Police. The family has cooperated fully with law-enforcement in their ongoing efforts to locate Travis. Family members and friends have also conducted search efforts in the surrounding woods. These efforts have been limited by weather conditions and with respect for the official operations underway.”
Virginia State Police revealed on Tuesday, November 25, that Turner, 46, is wanted on five counts of possession of child pornography and five counts of using a computer to solicit a minor.
Authorities claim they were on their way to the Turner residence on November 20 to speak with him about the open investigation, but were made aware at that time that Turner was no longer at his house.
On November 22, Turner was listed as an “endangered missing person,” Virginia State Police 1st Sgt. Jason Day told News Channel 11.
“He had went into the woods right near the general location of his house, and that’s basically where we’ve focused our search on,” Day said.
Turner’s wife, Leslie Caudill Turner, broke her silence regarding her husband’s disappearance in a since-deleted Facebook post on Friday, November 21.
“I just wanted to get on here for a second to clear up something, as of right now, 10:25 PM on Friday night, Travis is missing, & that’s all we know,” Leslie wrote. “We love him & need him here with us. Thank you to everyone who has reached out with love & support. It means more than you know. Just keep praying that he comes home.”
Leslie defended her husband against authorities’ accusations, telling the Daily Mail that “none of that is true.”
Wife of Missing High School Coach Responds to Child Pornography Charges
“He’s a good dad and a good husband and we want him home. That’s it,” Leslie told the Daily Mail in a story published on Tuesday, November 25. “I don’t know anything. I don’t know anything. I’m sorry.”
She added: “We are all just hanging in there until we get news.”
Just days before Turner’s disappearance, the Union High School football team advanced in the Virginia state playoffs, defeating Lee High School in the regional state quarterfinals on November 15.
The following week, on November 22, the team beat Graham High School in the state regional semifinals, and is now scheduled to play Ridgeview High School in the state regional finals on Saturday, November 29.
