Appalachia, Virginia – December 2, 2025 – The U.S. Marshals Service has announced a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest of Travis L. Turner, a 46-year-old high school football coach from southwest Virginia who vanished on November 20, 2025, just hours before state police arrived at his home with felony arrest warrants related to child sexual abuse material.
Turner, the head football coach at Union High School in Big Stone Gap, is wanted on ten felony charges: five counts of possession of child pornography and five counts of using a computer to solicit a minor. Additional charges are pending as the investigation continues.
The once-celebrated coach disappeared after telling his family he was going for a walk in the dense, mountainous woods behind his home in Appalachia, Virginia. According to the family’s attorney, Adrian Collins, Turner left the house carrying a firearm and has not been seen since. Authorities have warned the public that he should be considered armed and dangerous and should not be approached.
What began as a missing person case quickly turned into a fugitive manhunt. On November 24, Virginia State Police revealed they had obtained the arrest warrants had been issued days earlier as part of an ongoing child exploitation investigation. The timing of Turner’s disappearance—mere hours before law enforcement planned to interview him—has fueled speculation that he may have been tipped off or sensed the investigation closing in.
Turner had been leading Union High School’s football team to a historic undefeated season. The Bears were preparing for the state semifinals when the news broke, forcing the school district to immediately suspend him and remove all traces of his name and photo from the athletic department website. Interim coaches have taken over, and counseling services have been offered to students and staff shaken by the allegations against a man many viewed as a mentor and father figure.
A married father of two and a 25-year resident of the tight-knit Appalachian community, Turner grew up in Big Stone Gap and played quarterback at the former Appalachia High School under his own father, legendary local coach Tom Turner. He went on to play college football at Virginia Tech, Eastern Kentucky University, and UVA-Wise before returning home to coach. For over a decade, he built Union High’s program into a regional powerhouse, earning admiration for his intensity and dedication to players from struggling families in Virginia’s coal country.
His wife, Leslie Caudill Turner, a longtime educator in the same school district, deactivated all of her social media accounts within hours of the warrants becoming public. Through attorney Adrian Collins, the family has repeatedly expressed hope that Turner is safe and will return to face the charges in court. “They are praying for his safe return and for his opportunity to defend himself in a court of law,” Collins said Collins.
Law enforcement has declined to disclose how the investigation began or whether any alleged victims are connected to Union High School, citing the ongoing nature of the case and the need to protect minors. The rural school serves approximately 600 students in one of Virginia’s most economically challenged regions.
The U.S. Marshals Service elevated the case this week by adding Turner to its wanted list and offering the $5,000 reward. Authorities believe he may still be in the rugged terrain of the Jefferson National Forest or could have crossed state lines using back roads or assistance from acquaintances. Search efforts have included drones, K-9 units, and ground teams, but harsh winter weather and vast wilderness have complicated the operation.
Anyone with information is urged to contact 911, Virginia State Police, or the U.S. Marshals tip line at 1-877-WANTED-2 (1-877-926-8332). Tips may be submitted anonymously.
As the Union High School prepares to play in the state semifinals without their head coach, the community remains torn between shock, grief, and anger. Prayer vigils have been held across Wise County, and local leaders have called for patience and compassion while emphasizing that the allegations, if proven, represent an unforgivable betrayal of trust.
For now, the search for Travis Turner continues — a fallen hero in the eyes of some, a dangerous fugitive in the eyes of the law — lost somewhere in the mountains he once called home.
