The family of missing highschool football coach Travis Turner decided to take search efforts into their very own hands.
As authorities conducted their very own manhunt for the missing Union High School coach, the Turner family attorney said separate search operations have been organized.
“Members of the family and friends have also conducted search efforts in the encompassing woods,” attorney Adrian Collins said in a press release on Friday, November 28. “These efforts have been limited by weather conditions and with respect for the official operations underway.”
Turner, 46, went missing on November 20, last seen entering the woods behind the family home with a firearm, based on Collins.
“He’s believed to have entered a heavily wooded and mountainous area,” Collins’ statement said.
Collins added, “It’s the family’s prayer that Travis is secure and may have the chance to defend himself in a court of law.”
Turner was officially named an “endangered missing person” on November 22, with search efforts centering on the expansive wooded area near his home.
“He had went into the woods right near the final location of his house, and that’s mainly where we’ve focused our search on,” Virginia State Police 1st Sgt. Jason Day said.
Turner went missing days before he was charged with five counts of kid pornography and five counts of using a pc to solicit a minor.
Authorities said Turner stays a “fugitive” and extra charges against him are pending.
“We remain prayerful for his secure return and for everybody affected by the circumstances surrounding his disappearance,” attorney Collins said in a press release on behalf of the Turner family on Tuesday, November 25. “We trust God to bring truth and clarity in His time. Any allegations needs to be addressed through the right legal process — not through speculation or rumor.”
The statement continued, “We ask the general public and media to indicate compassion, accuracy, and respect for the family’s privacy.”
Turner’s wife, Leslie Caudill Turner, addressed the fees made against her husband on Tuesday.
“None of that’s true,” Leslie told the Every day Mail. “He’s dad and husband and we would like him home. That’s it.”
Leslie added, ”I don’t know anything. I don’t know anything. I’m sorry.”
Travis and Leslie share three children: sons Bailey, 25, and Grayden, 20, and daughter Brynlee, 11.
Bailey, a member of the Union High School coaching staff, was present for the team’s playoff victory over Ridgeview High School on Saturday, November 29.
After the sport, Bailey called the win “bittersweet,” based on the Every day Mail. Bailey also told the outlet his family “appreciated the support” amid his father’s continued disappearance.
Before highschool football coach Travis Turner suddenly went missing last week, his wife, Leslie Caudill Turner, was his biggest supporter. Leslie used her social media accounts to cheer on the Union High School football team, where Travis has coached since 2011. Her support was evident on Facebook just days before Travis vanished, celebrating Union […]
Union advanced to the Class 2 semifinals against Glenvar High School on Saturday, December 6.
Following Union’s win over Graham High School within the regional semifinals on November 22, members of the Bears roster spoke about playing in Turner’s absence.
“We talked within the huddle and we said, ‘Listen boys, we’re going to must handle adversity here,’” senior running back Keith Chandler told WCYB. “We stick together as brothers here and we must always come out with the victory.”
Senior tight end and defensive end Carlos Anderson told the Bristol Herald Courier, “I feel we were going to play regardless of what. We were ready for this game. We’ve been ready since summer and we just needed to exit and execute.”