Coach Missing After Ten Child-Sex-Crime Charges Filed

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The High Points:

• Coach Travis Turner vanished with a firearm amid a child-pornography and solicitation investigation.

• His family says he fled into the woods before police arrived to question him.

• Turner faces ten felony charges and is now missing in rugged terrain.

This story is unsettling on every level — not only because of the allegations, but because of the way Travis Turner vanished right as police were coming to question him. A high-school football coach, undefeated season, beloved in his community… and then suddenly he grabs a gun and disappears into the mountains with ten child-sex-related charges about to land on his doorstep. His family insists he’s innocent, calling him a good dad and husband, but even they admit he left with a firearm after receiving notice police were coming. That’s not exactly the move of a man prepared to clear his name.

The fact that no warrants had been issued yet doesn’t make the situation any less grim. You don’t need a warrant to know trouble’s coming. And now you have a missing adult, a weapon, and terrain that makes searching almost impossible.

The whole thing carries a tragic, foreboding tone — and no matter how this ends, an entire community has already taken a massive hit.

From Breitbart:

Virginia high school football coach Travis Turner grabbed a gun from his home and disappeared into the woods while under investigation for child pornography and solicitation of a minor, his family revealed on Friday.

Turner, 46, was the head coach of an undefeated team at Union High School in Big Stone Gap, Virginia. He has been missing since November 20.

“On behalf of the family of Travis Turner, I wish to express their sincere gratitude to all who have shown concern during this difficult time,” family attorney Adrian Collins said in a statement.

“The last known contact the family had with Travis occurred on or about Thursday, November 20, after he left his residence to walk in the woods with a firearm,” Collins added.

Turner reportedly fled his home as police were en route to interview him. In all, he is charged with five counts of possession of child pornography and five counts of using a computer to solicit a minor.

Collins also shot down an earlier report that claimed police had issued multiple warrants for Turner before his disappearance.

“He is believed to have entered a heavily wooded and mountainous area. At which point, no warrants had been issued for his arrest,” the attorney said.

According to police, Turner was last seen wearing a gray sweatshirt and sweatpants.

The coach’s family has cooperated with the police, despite their insistence that Turner is innocent of the charges against him. Maintaining that he is a “good dad and a good husband.”

Wise County Public Schools placed the coach on administrative leave four days after he went missing. Earlier this week, they removed Turner from the school website.

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