A sense of unease has gripped a small Virginia town following the unexplained disappearance of a high school football coach during a remarkable undefeated season.
Authorities in Virginia confirmed on Saturday that a comprehensive search effort is underway, involving multiple state agencies, to find Travis L. Turner, 46, from Appalachia. Turner is the head coach of Union High School’s football team.
State police were heading to Turner’s residence on Thursday as part of an ongoing investigation, only to find him absent. This development has raised concerns about his safety and well-being, especially as his team gears up for an important playoff game.
According to a report by Football Scoop, police emphasized that they were not intending to arrest Turner but merely sought to speak with him as part of their investigation.
The Bureau of Criminal Investigation’s Wytheville field office agents were in the initial phases of probing a case involving a man from Wise County, as reported by WJHL.
Turner was last observed entering the woods near his home, which has led authorities to concentrate their search efforts in that vicinity. He was last spotted wearing a gray sweatshirt, gray sweatpants, and glasses.
‘We have had the drones up in the air looking, searching,’ Officer Jason Day of the Virginia State Police told WJHL, adding that have also deployed K-9s and tried to deploy helicopters, which were unable to fly on Saturday due to the weather.
Meanwhile, Wise County school officials announced on Friday that an unidentified employee has been placed on administrative leave as part of an external investigation.
A massive search effort is underway to locate Travis L. Turner, who serves as the head coach of the football team at Union High School in Virginia
Turner’s sudden disappearance came after he led Union to an undefeated season and the team ranked among the top in the state within their division
Turner has officially been declared a missing person
Turner was a high school football star himself, quarterbacking three state championship teams from 1994-97.
He has served as the head coach at Union since 2011 and was honored twice as the Southwest Virginia Coach of the Year.
Turner’s sudden disappearance came after he led Union to an undefeated season and the team ranked among the top in the state within their division.
Many on Facebook prayed for his safe return, as his wife Leslie Caudill Turner announced Friday night that he ‘is missing and that’s all we know.’
‘We love him and need him here with us,’ she said, thanking those who have ‘reached out with love and support.
‘Just keep praying that he comes home.’
A friend also posted online that both Leslie and Travis ‘have always been good people.
‘Everybody needs to be looking out for Leslie Caudill Turner and her family, and focus on finding her husband, not put stress [on] her and her kids,’ she wrote.
Writing directly to Leslie, the friend said she is ‘praying for you and your family and that they find Travis.’
Turner has served as the head coach at Union since 2011 and was honored twice as the Southwest Virginia Coach of the Year
Wise County school officials announced on Friday that an unidentified employee has been placed on administrative leave as part of an external investigation
In the meantime, Assistant Coach Jay Edwards has taken over the coaching duties as the season comes to an end.
Despite Turner’s mysterious disappearance, the Union football team was able to pull together to win Saturday’s game against Graham High School 12 – 0.
The victory pushed their record to 11 – 0 for the season.
‘I think w were going to play no matter what,’ senior defensive leader Carlos Anderson told the Bristol Herald-Courier following the game.
‘We were ready for this game. We’ve been ready since summer and we just had to go out and execute.’
Keith Chandler also noted that ‘it was a very emotional day today, but we knew coming into this game that we had to be physical and I figured that we were probably the most physical team on the field today.
‘We knew we were going to have to handle more adversity coming into today,’ he continued. ‘We got together and we talked. We knew we had to lock in.’
