The family of missing high school football coach Travis Turner decided to take search efforts into their own hands.
As authorities conducted their own manhunt for the missing Union High School coach, the Turner family attorney said separate search operations have been organized.
“Family members and friends have also conducted search efforts in the surrounding woods,” attorney Adrian Collins said in a statement on Friday, November 28. “These efforts have been limited by weather conditions and with respect for the official operations underway.”
Turner, 46, went missing on November 20, last seen entering the woods behind the family home with a firearm, according to Collins.
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“He is believed to have entered a heavily wooded and mountainous area,” Collins’ statement said.
Collins added, “It is the family’s prayer that Travis is safe and will have the opportunity to defend himself in a court of law.”
Turner was officially named an “endangered missing person” on November 22, with search efforts centering on the expansive wooded area near his home.
“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,” Virginia State Police 1st Sgt. Jason Day said.
Turner went missing days before he was charged with five counts of child pornography and five counts of using a computer to solicit a minor.
Authorities said Turner remains a “fugitive” and additional charges against him are pending.
“We remain prayerful for his safe return and for everyone affected by the circumstances surrounding his disappearance,” attorney Collins said in a statement on behalf of the Turner family on Tuesday, November 25. “We trust God to bring truth and clarity in His time. Any allegations should be addressed through the proper legal process — not through speculation or rumor.”
The statement continued, “We ask the public and media to show compassion, accuracy, and respect for the family’s privacy.”
Turner’s wife, Leslie Caudill Turner, addressed the charges made against her husband on Tuesday.
“None of that is true,” Leslie told the Daily Mail. “He’s a good dad and a good husband and we want him home. That’s it.”
Leslie added, ”I don’t know anything. I don’t know anything. I’m sorry.”
Travis and Leslie share three children: sons Bailey, 25, and Grayden, 20, and daughter Brynlee, 11.
Bailey, a member of the Union High School coaching staff, was present for the team’s playoff victory over Ridgeview High School on Saturday, November 29.
After the game, Bailey called the win “bittersweet,” according to the Daily Mail. Bailey also told the outlet his family “appreciated the support” amid his father’s continued disappearance.
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Union advanced to the Class 2 semifinals against Glenvar High School on Saturday, December 6.
Following Union’s win over Graham High School in the regional semifinals on November 22, members of the Bears roster spoke about playing in Turner’s absence.
“We talked in the huddle and we said, ‘Listen boys, we’re going to have to handle adversity here,’” senior running back Keith Chandler told WCYB. “We stick together as brothers here and we should come out with the victory.”
Senior tight end and defensive end Carlos Anderson told the Bristol Herald Courier, “I think we were going to play no matter what. We were ready for this game. We’ve been ready since summer and we just had to go out and execute.”
