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.

A message seeking comment was left Tuesday at a phone number associated with Turner. The court did not yet have a case docket that would list any attorney for him.

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.

Asked about Turner, Division Superintendent Mike Goforth said 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.