Hey, folks, did is Friday, January ninth, and the coach of an undefeated high school football team goes missing. Days later, he becomes a fugitive. But here we are nearly two months later, and we still don't know where he is. And with that, welcome to this episode of Amy and TJ. Roase. This was a fascinating case from the very beginning. A lot of it had to do with the fact this was an undefeated high school football team in the middle of a playoff run and the coach disappears.
Yes, in the middle of a community where football is king. This was a man who had been the head football coach for more than a decade, was beloved in his community, was a larger than life figure.
He was a football king. His father was before.
There was legacy behind this man in a town of two thousand Appalachia, Virginia, and poof, he goes missing and we still don't know where he is, what condition he may be in, and any validity to the charges that are now hanging over his head.
So let's go back then, Robes, to the very beginning. This was a case that got national headlines from the very beginning, and all we knew at the beginning was that he disappeared. Right, there's an undefeated high school football team. They're having a great, great run and poof, the coach goes missing. Now, from the very beginning, robes there was no indication again from the very beginning, that he was
wanted for anything, but the details as we got them. Initially, police were on the way to his house to discuss what we don't know, but they made clear to us at the very beginning, he is not a suspect. We are not after him for anything, and the search begins.
Yes, they just said that they had questions for him.
At the same time, we also learned that the school where he taught, Union High School put someone on administrative lead. Yes, so obviously those dots were connected but not confirmed. And even his own family was saying, hey, this is unlike him. If there's any sort of insinuation of anything, he will be back to clear his name. We trust him, we love him. He's not capable of doing anything untoward.
But the authorities wanted to. It seemed like they made a point early on to say he's not wanted for anything. And this was a massive search in a very wooded area, but they were driving home the point and maybe ropes. They were doing this because they wanted to make sure the message got to him, and they wanted to make sure they got him back in good health. But they made clear how many days do you remember it went by before they said, actually.
That five days? Five days he went missing on November twentieth.
We knew that Virginia State Police had been looking to talk to him about something. We knew that someone had been put on administrative leave, but we did not get official word until five days later that yes, this coach, Travis Turner was facing five counts of child pornography possession and five counts of using a computer to solicit a minor. That is a long time to go by, they were hoping. I really do think you're correct. They didn't want to
scare him off. They didn't want him to know what they knew or what they were potentially going to charge him with. They wanted to make it comfortable for him to return.
I didn't realize it was five day. That is a long stretch that they were telling the public. They were absolutely repeating that that he wasn't wanted for anything. So here we go. People started piecing it together. Now when robes did we get how soon do we get the information from his family that he had walked out, walked into the woods, was only wearing a hoodie, and was carrying a weapon.
I'm not sure how long later we learned that he had a firearm. And that was a big exclamation point because to know that he was last seen within a few days by his family with a firearm, disappearing into what they describe as thick, mountainous woods behind his home only wearing a gray sweatshirt and sweatpants, clearly not dressed in November twentieth for the Appalachian Mountains, which obviously can
have notoriously difficult weather, so he wasn't prepped. And we also got more information within the weeks to come from Turner's family attorney, and this was even more alarming. Apparently Travis Turner. We talked about what he left with. He left with a firearm, but he left behind his car, his keys, his contact lenses, his glasses, his wallet, his license, cash. He also left behind daily medications, which his family says
he needs. So they added, it's not like Travis to disappear or stay away from home, and that is when you really ca a clearer picture of perhaps what Travis Turner's intentions were when he left his home.
And there we go November twentieth. We're talking about so he wasn't dressed obviously for any of the conditions out there. He has no way of getting food, no shelter, no nothing. So unfortunately, this paint's a very grim picture. But they are still holding out hope. Do you remember, Robes, I'm trying to think along the way, I'm trying to remember all the timing here as it went about, they had to come out and make a point that the woman,
the wife, did not help him try to escape. They had to make that a part of the story as well.
Yes, yes, they made that very very clear that she had no idea any of this was going on. In fact, a lot of people have now looked back, they've peeled back a couple of days before he went missing, before we knew that there were any sort of allegations against this coach. They talked about how he had just done an interview with a local reporter. He was up beat, he was excited about his team. He was talking about what they needed to do to win this semi final round.
That was just days away and he was in great spirits. That's how the reporter described him. They also pointed to the fact that his wife was posting on social media pictures of the team and football forward and just excited about where their team was headed and what they were going to be doing this weekend. She also she put out a Facebook statement when he went missing, saying, you know, please come home.
My husband's done nothing wrong.
Everything she did and all of her actions were in line with someone who was deeply concerned about where her husband was and these being like wanting to fight these allegations against him. And it was very clear, and they've made it clear she was in the dark about the allegations and about any intentions on his behalf to leave and never come back. The family actually issued a statement to Travis and it's you can just you can hear
in their tone, like just the genuineness. This isn't a family that was trying to cover something up.
What are I'm sorry I put you on the spot. I don't remember. They were young kids that he and his wife have.
He has three children and two boys and a girl. I don't have their ages right.
Now, but young, I mean they're old enough to know what's going on, and certainly young enough to miss their dad. The family statement says, if Travis has the ability and is able to respond to his family's wishes, your wife and children are in distress. Leslie pleads for you to come home and face the allegations by defending yourself in a court of law. Don't leave your family to fight this battle without you. They love and miss you. They want you to know they are your support.
This is, I mean, this is the allegations are as bad as it gets in terms of community, community shame, community fear. This is some awful stuff. Now, there's no allegation, I think in here of actual molestation, right at least no charge. There's none, but solicitation of a miner using a computer to do so, and then possession of child pornography. What that means I don't know, but just the sound of that. How do you walk into this community again and keep your head up with that hanging over you?
I mean, in rogues for them to get to this point, to go to his house and ready to make an arrest. He is a fugitive from justice right now.
Yes, And this is the same man who was named coach of the year twice.
Actually in his community where as we pointed out, football is king, he had a.
Big article written about him.
I mean, he really was this big man on campus sort of personality in that area of Appalachia, Virginia. They talked about a recent profile of him by the local paper describing him as listening this is interesting, emotionless and unflappable, with like focus. So they talked about him, praising his leadership, praising his coaching abilities, and this he was a football
star in his own right, so was his father. This is a man who's not only known in this community, revered in this community, but his entire family was.
This is hard to walk back into.
And he and you hate to. I mean, who knows, who knows what he where he could be if he found some way to survive with the signs are just there of a man who didn't plan on ever coming back and didn't plan on frankly being around that long. He left everything he needed. They say, this is medication that was necessary for him to keep going type stuff. Yes he didn't, he never plans on coming back.
Yes, that is what the fear is by the family. And you can hear by that family statement that they certainly are concerned. Coming up, we're going to talk about how this mysterious disappearance got even more mysterious right around the holidays, and we will tell you the very latest information about where he is, the terrain he might be facing, and what folks feel like the ending maybe And welcome
back everyone to this episode of Amy and TJ. We have been all week going over some of the very mysterious crimes that happened in twenty twenty five, high profile, made tons of headlines and then nothing, And there have been several of them that we have gone over this week.
If you're interested at all in what the latest is with singer David and the investigation into his girlfriend's body, or at least reported girlfriend's body that was found in his tesla, what's the latest on that, We ask about what's going on in the Martha Nolan case, the woman who is mysteriously found dead on a yacht in Montalk. We have the Anna Kepner case on the Carnival Cruise line and why her stepbrother who's been named to suspecting
court documents hasn't been arrested. And yes, today we are talking about the mysterious disappearance of a revered high school football coach in Virginia. His name is Travis Turner, last seen on November twentieth. It took days before we realized that he was a wanted fugitive on child porn and solicitation charges, and what happened in December made things even more mysterious. A judge on December ninth ordered all records connected to the Travis Turner investigation sealed, including the order
that sealed them. So why is that? That is an interesting twist that a lot of folks are asking questions about why the secrecy?
Hey, what is that speculation? Why it could? Is it a matter of protecting some members of that community, not a matter of Travis Turner or his family, But I mean, who are possibly victims in that community, potentially correct victims? Is that?
Yes, that is one of the thoughts. The point being no one knows who any of these alleged victims are or may be. There's been so much speculation about if members of the football team, if current and former members of the football team were involved, who came forward, who brought this up to police? How did the investigation even begin? I mean, he has been as we pointed out the head coach of this high school for eleven years up until his disappearance. That's a long time with direct access
to a number of children. And so there are even people now saying, oh there were rumors. Oh, people used to whisper or talk. You do often hear that, but it's now starting to circulate. So perhaps that to quiet maybe some of the speculation that was done to protect alleged victims.
But again, given where we are, with this being such a mystery and the biggest mystery being where is he, something like that is obviously going to make people raise some eyebrows, But I just where is he?
Yes?
And if he is found, when I'm sure many people fear dead, yes, then where does that leave everyone? The family's, the potential victims, I mean his family in particular, what happens then? Does it all go with him? I don't know.
It's excruciating to have those types of allegations be leveled, to leave before they're ever actually discussed and certainly litigated, to actually have your day in court. But obviously most people would draw the conclusion that if you go and you decide to end things on your terms, in your way,
you weren't prepared to face what the allegations were. You weren't prepared to defend yourself in the middle of those allegations, and certainly you didn't feel like you wanted Maybe he didn't want to put his family through this, but obviously his family is going through this regardless. The area that he disappeared into. Just in case you're unfamiliar with this tri city area of Virginia, right there in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. But his home apparently was right
on the border of this mountainous terrain. But it's described as rugged topography, carved by rivers and forests with elevations that go up into high peaks. And they just said, this is one of the most challenging environments you could have for search and rescue operations. They had canine units, they had obviously folks searching the area on foot, they've had drones. They've even suggested getting heat seeking technology of surveillance. But this is such a massive and vast area to cover.
It just goes to show seven weeks of looking for this man and there is no trace of him. That is certainly significant. And look, they've even offered a reward that happened in early December as well. They've offered five thousand dollars for any information that leads to finding track this turner, but so far that has turned up nothing.
Well, folks, we are and again this is another one of those cases. Were almost literally checking on this every single day since November. We will pass along any updates as we've got them, but by all means I'm back in the feed. Take a listen back to some of these other cases that Robot mentioned. We've went through them all and we'll keep an eye, but we appreciate you all spending some time with us. As always on t J Holmes on behalf of my dear Emmy Robot. We will talk to you alsoon