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.
The Associated Press left a message seeking comment Tuesday at a phone number associated with Turner. The court did not yet have a case docket that would list any attorney for him, and records connected to his charges were not made available by the court or state police.
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.
