U.S. Marshals join hunt for fugitive Virginia football coach, warn he may be armed
Written by admin on December 2, 2025
Federal authorities joined the search for a fugitive high school football coach being sought in connection with a child sex abuse image and solicitation probe in Virginia — and warn he may be armed.
The U.S. Marshals Service on Monday asked anyone with information about Travis Turner, 46, to call it or Virginia State Police.
“VSP is still searching for Turner with the assistance of the FBI and U.S. Marshals Service,” state police spokesperson Robin Lawson said in statement Monday.
Turner, coach of the undefeated Union High School Bears in Big Stone Gap, vanished Nov. 20 in what was initially cast as a simple missing persons case.
But then state police announced last week they had obtained arrest warrants for Turner on suspicion of five counts of possession of child pornography and five counts of using a computer to solicit a minor.
Since his disappearance, Union has won two playoff games, most recently a 21-14 triumph over Ridgeview on Saturday to capture the Region 2D championship.
Union is set to play Glenvar High School on Saturday in the Class 2 state semifinals.
Police and school officials have declined to say whether any victims or complaining witnesses against Turner are connected to Union High, a public school with about 600 students in the far southwest corner of Virginia.
The high school is about 170 miles west of Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg and about 120 miles northeast of the University of Tennessee.
Senior Breaking News Reporter
