Missing High School Coach Travis Turner Facing Charges, Officials Say

An Appalachian community in Virginia was electrified by its high school team’s winning streak. Until the team’s coach disappeared — and allegations against him surfaced.

At first, the state police described the case as a disappearance. They added Travis Lee Turner, a winning football coach in Appalachian coal country, to the list of missing people in Virginia.

Mr. Turner, 46, the head coach at Union High School in Big Stone Gap, Va., near the border with Kentucky, was last seen on Nov. 20 wearing a gray sweatshirt and sweatpants, the missing person’s report said.

The timing of Mr. Turner’s disappearance was striking: It came two days before the Bears, the undefeated team that Mr. Turner coached, were set to battle the Graham High School G-Men from Bluefield, Va., in a playoff game.

But on Tuesday, the town of Big Stone Gap was convulsed with more news on Mr. Turner. The Virginia State Police announced warrants for him on five counts of possession of child pornography and five counts of using a computer to solicit a minor.

“Additional charges are pending,” a statement by the state police said. Police officials declined to comment further on the charges.

Mike Goforth, the division superintendent of Wise County Schools, which includes Union High, initially sent a statement after Mr. Turner’s disappearance that did not mention the coach by name but said a staff member had been placed on administrative leave with pay.

On Tuesday, Mr. Goforth sent a second statement saying the school district “is aware that law enforcement has filed charges against a staff member.”

“The individual remains on leave and is not permitted on school property or to have contact with students,” the statement said.

Mr. Goforth declined to comment on whether Mr. Turner was being investigated for any misconduct with players or students.

Contacted on Wednesday, Leslie Turner, Mr. Turner’s wife, released a statement that was issued by the family on Tuesday through their family lawyer, Adrian Collins, asking the public to show compassion. “We remain prayerful for his safe return and for everyone affected by the circumstances surrounding his disappearance,” the family said, adding that “any allegations should be addressed through the proper legal process — not through speculation or rumor.”

Before the news, Big Stone Gap, a mountain town with a barbershop, a few restaurants and some shuttered shops, had filled with enthusiasm for the hometown football team. Lamp posts were festooned with signs announcing “Bear Country” and storefront windows carried hand-drawn messages on construction paper that said “Clawing our way to state” and “Catch us if you can.”

The charges left many in the community flabbergasted. “It was a shock to us,” said Katherine Blair, 49, who attended high school with Mr. Turner. “All the football players looked up to him. He was like a father figure to them.”

Ms. Blair described the coach as a “good guy” and easy to get along with.

“When he went from missing to a fugitive, we were like, ‘What?’”

It appeared to be the second time in two years that a staff member at Union High School was accused of sex-related crimes. In December 2023, Timothy Lee Meador, who was described in local media accounts as a science teacher and assistant football and baseball coach at the school, pleaded guilty to two felony charges of “taking indecent liberties with a child by a person in custodial or supervisory relationship,” court records show.

As Thanksgiving approaches, the hunt for Mr. Turner, who has the stature of a linebacker at 6 feet 3 inches and 260 pounds, has spread across the wooded Appalachian hinterland. Mr. Turner knows that area better than most people, said Eddie Blair, 53, Katherine Blair’s husband. State police officials said they were using search and rescue teams, drones and search dogs.

“It’s just about the only thing anyone’s talking about right now,” said Bronson Singh, 19, a former Union High School student who once had Mr. Turner as his gym teacher.

Things started to unravel last Thursday, when agents from the state police’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation were dispatched to the coach’s home in Appalachia, a town a short drive away from Union High.

“This was part of the investigation, and not to arrest him,” the state police said of their planned visit. “While in transit, the agents were informed that Turner was no longer at the location.”

In Mr. Turner’s hometown, small dilapidated buildings line a windy mountain road, some long closed. On Tuesday, a faded mural adorned a parking lot not far from the visitor center in the center of town, as rain trickled through the cool air.

The Bristol Herald Courier, a newspaper based about a 90-minute drive southeast of Big Stone Gap, named Mr. Turner the football coach of the year for the 2020-21 season, calling him “unflappable” in an article praising his coaching. Mr. Turner has coached the Union High School football team since 2011, following the footsteps of his father, Tom Turner, a Hall of Fame coach in Southwest Virginia, the newspaper said.

Several members of the Union High School football coaching staff declined to comment or could not immediately be reached.

The undefeated Bears won their playoff game against Graham High School, 12-0, on Saturday afternoon and will face Ridgeview High School this upcoming Saturday in the Class 2 regional championship game.

They will play without their fugitive coach.

Kirsten Noyes contributed research.

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