The family of missing high school football coach Travis Turner revealed some troubling details about his disappearance as the search for his whereabouts enters its second week.
In a statement released to Us Weekly by the Turners’ attorney on Wednesday, December 3, the family explained how their “last contact with Travis causes them to have great concern for his well being.”
Turner, 46, disappeared on November 20 and has not been seen or heard from since. The football coach walked into the woods behind the family’s Wise, Virginia home with a gun.
“Travis’ car and keys were left at home,” the statement revealed. “Travis wore contact lenses by day and glasses in the evenings. Travis’ contact lens supplies and glasses were left at home. Travis’ wallet, license, cash, and all its contents were left in the home.”
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Days after he went missing, Travis, the head coach at Union High School in Stone Gap, Virginia, was charged with five counts of child pornography and five counts of using a computer to solicit a minor.
The statement continued, “Travis is prescribed certain daily medications which he needs, those were left in the home. It is not like Travis to disappear or stay away from home.”
Travis was last seen “by some of his family as he was walking off into the local woods.” The family, including his wife of 24 years, Leslie Caudill Turner, did not have immediate concerns about his behavior because “this was something he had done multiple times throughout the years.”
“When he did not return to his home that evening, his wife, out of concern, asked for assistance from law enforcement,” the statement said. “As directed, she filed a missing person report the following day with the Virginia State Police.”
Amid Travis’ disappearance, the Turner family “continues to cooperate with law enforcement efforts to locate Travis.”
Despite the ominous circumstances, the family vows to “cling to the hope he will be found and afforded the opportunity to defend himself in a court of law.”
Travis and Leslie share three children: sons Bailey, 25, and Grayden, 21, and daughter Brynlee, 11.
Additional charges against Turner are currently pending and he is considered a “fugitive.”
“The search remains active and ongoing with the assistance of the US Marshals Service and FBI,” a spokesperson for the Virginia State Police told Us on Wednesday. “We are still asking for the public’s assistance in providing any information that may lead to Turner’s whereabouts.”
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The United States Marshals Service began assisting in the search for Travis on Monday, December 1, using nearby Appalachia High School, Travis’ alma mater, as their base camp.
K-9 units, drones and a helicopter have all been used in the search for Travis, which has largely centered on the expansive wooded area near his home.
A $5,000 reward for information about Travis’ disappearance was issued by the Marshals on Monday, warning the public that he “may be armed.”
Any individual with a tip about Turner’s location is encouraged to call 911 or the Virginia State Police, or visit usmarshals.gov/tips.
