A high school football coach from Virginia, wanted in connection with a child pornography investigation, was last seen entering a dense forested area while carrying a firearm, according to the family’s attorney.
Travis L. Turner, 46, who served as the head coach at Union High School in Big Stone Gap, Virginia, left his home on November 20 and headed into a “heavily wooded and mountainous area,” attorney Adrian Collins stated on behalf of Turner’s family, as reported by WCYB.
“The family’s last interaction with Travis was around Thursday, November 20, when he left home to walk into the woods with a firearm,” the statement detailed, emphasizing that no arrest warrants had been issued against him at the time of his disappearance.
Travis Turner, known for his accomplishments as a football coach in Virginia, vanished into the wilderness with a firearm amid an ongoing child pornography investigation.
After he failed to return home that night, his wife contacted local authorities but was advised that she needed to wait 24 hours before filing a missing person report. She subsequently reported him missing to the Virginia State Police the following day.
The family, along with friends, has been searching the nearby wooded areas, although their search efforts have been hampered by adverse weather conditions and the necessity to avoid disrupting the official investigation.
On Tuesday, five days after Turner was last seen, authorities announced that they had obtained 10 warrants to charge him with five counts of possession of child pornography and five counts of using a computer to solicit a minor.
Authorities said the investigation remains ongoing and additional charges are pending. Turner is now considered a fugitive, the VSP said.
Virginia State Police are searching for Union High football coach Travis Turner, whose disappearance has stunned the Big Stone Gap community. (Virginia State Police)
Turner was reported missing on Friday, Nov. 21 — a day after he was last seen — as Virginia State Police investigators were returning to his Appalachia home to speak with him about the case. Police said they had visited the home on Nov. 20, the day he disappeared, and were not seeking to arrest him at that time.
Turner’s wife Leslie Caudill Turner responded after her husband was charged, telling The Daily Mail that “none of that is true.”
“He’s a good dad and a good husband, and we want him home. That’s it,” she said. “I don’t know anything. I don’t know anything. I’m sorry.”
Travis Turner disappeared from his family’s home in Appalachia, Virginia on Friday, Nov. 21, 2025. Authorities announced that they have obtained 10 warrants to charge Turner with five counts of possession of child pornography and five counts of using a computer to solicit a minor. (Facebook/Leslie Caudill Turner)
Police have launched an extensive search across Wise County utilizing drones, K-9 units and foot patrols. He was last seen wearing a gray sweatshirt, sweatpants and glasses, according to Virginia’s missing person database.
Anyone with information about Turner’s whereabouts is asked to contact the Virginia State Police at (276) 228-3131.
