An undefeated rural Virginia highschool football workforce received a regional semifinal recreation final weekend in extremely uncommon circumstances: with out their head coach, who police stated had disappeared simply two days earlier than.
This week, authorities made the state of affairs clearer simply days earlier than the subsequent playoff recreation, saying Union High School’s Coach Travis Turner is wanted on 5 counts of child pornography possession and 5 counts of utilizing a pc to solicit a minor.
Police have been scouring the mountainous space for Turner, leaving a neighborhood grappling with allegations in opposition to a person trusted to show excessive schoolers and lead a profitable football workforce, which now presses for a possible state championship in his absence.
Here’s what we know (and what we don’t) about the investigation and search for the small-town football coach.
While investigators had been heading to Turner’s dwelling on November 20 in Appalachia, a western Virginia city of fewer than 2,000 folks, they had been instructed he wasn’t at dwelling, Virginia State Police stated, with out relaying who instructed them that.
Police instructed local media over the weekend that Turner was lacking, however didn’t initially clarify why that they had visited his home. Turner’s football workforce, figuring out he had disappeared, performed a regional semifinal recreation with out him, winning 12-0 to maintain their season alive.
On Tuesday, state police introduced the charges he’s sought for, saying they obtained warrants for every depend a day earlier. They haven’t launched additional particulars about the allegations.
Brett Hall, the commonwealth’s legal professional for Wise County, instructed NCS Wednesday over e mail his workplace “is aware of the ongoing investigation pertaining to charges against Union High School’s head football coach” however can’t remark additional.
Turner, who was additionally listed as a bodily schooling trainer at Union High School in a now-removed entry on the faculty’s on-line workers roster, was final seen carrying a grey sweatshirt, sweatpants and glasses, state police stated. The company hasn’t shared any particulars about when or the place he was final seen or who might have seen him final.
Union High School is situated simply outdoors the neighborhood of Big Stone Gap and some miles southeast of Appalachia, the city the place Turner lives.
In an e mail to NCS Tuesday, the Wise County Public Schools superintendent, Mike Goforth, stated the district is “aware that law enforcement has filed charges against a staff member who has been on administrative leave.”
Turner shouldn’t be permitted on faculty property or to have contact with college students, Goforth stated.
Students and neighborhood members gathered for a prayer circle earlier than kickoff Saturday, three days earlier than the charges in opposition to Turner had been publicly introduced.
“No matter what’s going on, we can count on our neighbors, and we can count on those God’s put in our life, and we can count on our community to be bigger than the situation we’re facing,” Bryan Gunter, pastor of First Baptist Church of Big Stone Gap, stated at the time, NCS affiliate WCYB reported.
Turner “went into the woods” close to his dwelling in Appalachia, Jason Day, an officer with Virginia State Police, instructed native TV station WJHL over the weekend.
Since Turner’s disappearance, authorities have used search and rescue groups, drones and police canine to attempt to find him, state police said this week.
But looking the space, nestled in a subrange of the Appalachian Mountains, isn’t simple.
Its rugged topography, carved by rivers and forests with elevations that modify from low valleys to excessive peaks, makes for a difficult atmosphere for search and rescue operations.
Outside of police canine and foot visitors, authorities might have to rely on know-how, like movement sensors left in an space of curiosity that ship indicators to the search workforce’s base, or drones with heat-sensing talents that may monitor motion, based on John Miller, NCS’s chief legislation enforcement and intelligence analyst. That’s not an ideal science, he notes, given all the exercise such sensors decide up.
It is unclear what number of assets are devoted to the search general.
“Once you’re into man versus nature and wide open spaces, a lot of that hinges on the key dependency – what is the training experience and ability of the fugitive to operate in that environment?” Miller stated.
“And we’ve seen both versions of that (in other cases), from people who were lifelong woodsmen and survivalists to people who had no background in camping and ran up into the woods and immediately ran up against the challenges of lasting.”
If Turner is in the woods, climate may affect how he fares. Since his disappearance, the space has seen hotter than regular temperatures throughout the day and in a single day – typically with gentle rainfall, however not sufficient to flood the space – based on NCS meteorologist Mary Gilbert. In the coming few days, Friday is anticipated to be the coldest, with highs simply above freezing and lows in the higher teenagers. Some of the days after that provide potential for some icy, wintry climate and several other rain probabilities.
When reached by NCS on Tuesday, Turner’s spouse shared an announcement from the household’s legal professional, whom she recognized as Adrian Collins.
“I speak today on behalf of Coach Turner’s family. We remain prayerful for his safe return and for everyone affected by the circumstances surrounding his disappearance. We trust God to bring truth and clarity in His time. Any allegations should be addressed through the proper legal process – not through speculation or rumor,” the assertion reads.
The assertion closed by asking for the household’s privateness.
NCS has reached out to Collins for extra data. NCS additionally sought remark from an individual who’s now serving as the interim head coach of Union High’s football workforce.
Turner attended Appalachia High School himself, years earlier than it was consolidated, together with Powell Valley High School, into Union High School in August 2011, based on experiences by the Bristol Herald Courier. He was a quarterback on the faculty’s football workforce, coached by his father, Virginia High School League Hall of Famer Tom Turner, from 1994 to 1997, the newspaper reported.
Throughout his faculty profession, Turner performed football at Virginia Tech, Eastern Kentucky and the University of Virginia-Wise, the Bristol Herald Courier reported. He was then employed as head football coach at Powell Valley High School in early 2011, based on the newspaper.
As for the Union High workforce that Tuner coached till final week: It will play in a regional final recreation at dwelling in opposition to Ridgeview on Saturday afternoon. If Union wins, it might advance to the Class 2 state semifinal on December 6, one step earlier than the state closing set for December 13.