Travis Turner update: Mystery around missing Appalachia, Virginia high school football coach deepens
Virginia high school coach Travis Turner vanished amid an undefeated season; police are investigating, including a staff member, but details remain scarce.
Travis Turner, a 46-year-old high school football coach for Virginia, has mysteriously disappeared amidst an undefeated season, his wife announced in a now-deleted Facebook post.
Turner, who coached the Union High School football team in Big Stone Gap, Virginia, disappeared last week, the state's missing persons database showed. The Virginia State Police have launched a probe into the incident, but details about it remain limited.
However, the New York Post reported that an unidentified staff member at the is involved in the police probe into the disappearance. But, details about the staff's involvement remain limited as the probe into the missing coach from Appalachia, Virginia, is still in the “early stages of an investigation,” per the police.
In a statement, the police clarified that the probe involving a staff member was not an arrest and was only a “part of the investigation.” “At this time, Turner has not been located," the police statement noted. "The investigation remains ongoing.”
Who Is Travis Turner?
According to the website of Union High School in Wise County, Virginia, Travis Turner serves as the physical education teacher, the high school football coach and the coach of the school's boys track team. The 46-year-old was in the midst of an undefeated season with the school's football team, which has only added to the mystery surrounding his disappearance.
Meanwhile, the school announced that the school’s assistant coach, Jay Edwards, has now taken charge of the team in Turner's absence.
But doubts remain around the disappearance, especially since neither the police nor the school has provided details on the staff member arrested. The New York Post suggested in a report that the suspended staff member could be Turner himself, though the report noted that it remains unconfirmed.
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Travis Turner's Wife's Facebook Post
In the now-deleted Facebook post, Leslie Turner, Travis Turner's wife, revealed the initial details of the disappearance.
“I just wanted to get on here for a second to clear up something, as of right now, 10:25 PM on Friday night, Travis is missing, & that’s all we know,” she wrote, per News Channel 11.
“We love him & need him here with us. Thank you to everyone who has reached out with love & support. It means more than you know. Just keep praying that he comes home,” she added.
