4 days ago
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As police remain searching for Travis Turner, the missing high school football coach wanted on child porn charges, the small town that he is from continues to react in disbelief.
Turner, 46, is the head football coach of the Virginia Union High School team but was last seen entering the woods near his home as special agents headed to interview him as part of an ongoing investigation last Thursday.
Police then announced on Tuesday that Turner is wanted on five counts of child pornography and another five counts of using a computer to solicit a minor, adding that 'additional charges are pending'.
Those allegations have stunned the small town of Big Stone Gap, which has an estimated population of just over 5,000.
One of Turner's high school friends, Katherine Blair, was quoted by the New York Times as saying: 'It was a shock to us.
'All the football players looked up to him. He was like a father figure to them.'
Missing high school football coach Travis Turner is wanted on five counts of possession of child pornography and five counts of using a computer to solicit a minor
A younger Turner is seen alongside his wife, Leslie. The couple lives in Western Virginia
She added that she considered Turner, a married father of three, to be 'a good guy' and that: 'When he went from missing to a fugitive, we were like, ‘What?’”
A former pupil of Turner's, Bronson Singh, also told the publication: 'It’s just about the only thing anyone’s talking about right now.'
Turner's football team, the Bears, are undefeated at 12-0. His vanishing came days before their most recent game, which still went ahead and the team won.
They are scheduled to play again on Saturday, a home game at the school.
Remarkably, it has now emerged that Turner is not the first coach at the tight-knit school to be accused of similar crimes, after Timothy Lee Meador was jailed two years ago.
Per KATV and WYMT, Meador - then a teacher at the school in Big Stone Gap, Virginia - was arrested and charged on one count of child solicitation and two counts of indecent liberties.
According to the Commonwealth's Attorney, he later pleaded guilty to two counts of indecent liberties with a child and served one year and three months in prison.
Meador, now 30, was immediately banned from the school and remains active on the Virginia State Police Sex Offender Registry.
Turner is pictured alongside is wife, Leslie, who has called for prayers to find her husband
Incredibly, a third high school employee in the same Wise County School System was also arrested and charged earlier this year on three counts of carnal knowledge and one count of taking indecent liberties with a child by a person in a custodial/supervisory relationship.
Tyler Jay Tibbs, 28, who worked at Coeburn Middle School - a short 25-minute drive from Union High School - was arrested in August, before being taken to Southwest Virginia Regional Jail.
It was later reported that he was bonded out of Duffield Regional Jail on a $25,000 bond, and the investigation into his alleged crimes is believed to be ongoing.
