A high school football coach in the state of Virginia suddenly went missing right in the middle of an undefeated season. Union High School head coach Travis Turner was last seen on Thursday.
That was less than 48 hours before the second round of the playoffs.
The high school football coach was not with the Bears during their win on Saturday. He was not heard from at any point over the weekend.
Union is one of the most dominant high school football teams in Virginia.
Union High School is located near the state border in Big Stone Gap, Virginia, about 60 miles north of Johnson City, Tennessee. It enrolls approximately 600 students in Grades 9-12.
The Bears finished the regular season at 10-0 by a combined score of 467-97. They really could not be more dominant as the top-ranked team on Virginia Class 2A level of competition. Senior running back Keith Chandler leads the way with an average of ~100 yards per game. He is a beast.
Union earned the No. 1 seed in the high school football playoffs. It defeated Lee by 33 points in the first round to advance to the region semifinals. It defeated Graham by a final score 12-0 on Saturday to advance to the regional final against No. 2-seed Ridgeview, which effectively serves as the state quarterfinals.
The Bears won without their head coach.
Head coach Travis Turner went missing.
Travis Turner was officially listed in the Virginia State Police Department’s database for missing persons over the weekend. He is the subject of an “active search” involving agents from the Bureau of Criminal Investigation Wytheville Field Office.
Virginia State Police sent agents to the residence of Turner on part of an investigation. They were not going to the residence to arrest Turner. It was just part of the investigation.
However, as the agents were in transit, they were informed that Travis Turner was no longer there.
Turner is still missing. The ensuing search has mostly focused on the general location of the home through the use of drones and police K9s.
“We have had the drones up in the air looking, searching,” Jason Day of the State Police said. “We’ve had, K-9 units, bloodhounds from local departments, sheriff’s office here, and wise state police dogs into the woods, searching, you know, the local area of last known, place where, Mr. Turner may have been or had seen.”
I would imagine he is not in the general location of the home at this point, given that he has not been found but what do I know? There is also another wrinkle to this saga.
Amid the undisclosed investigation, an unidentified member of the Wise County Schools staff was placed on leave on Friday.
“At this time, a staff member has been placed on administrative leave with pay while an external agency reviews an allegation that was reported to us,” Wise County Schools said in a statement. “This is standard procedure and not a determination of wrongdoing. The division cannot comment further.”
It is unclear as to whether these two things are related or if the staffer is Turner or tied to Turner. Still weird.
The Bears must play on.
Union High School played its game on Saturday without its head coach. Football players, coaches and members of the community gathered in prayer prior to kickoff. The Bears went on to win without him.
Turner has been the head coach at Union since 2011. Assistant coach Jay Edwards is “handling all coaching responsibilities” in his absence.
His next game as the interim head coach is scheduled for Saturday against Ridgeview at 2:00 p.m. It is unclear as to what would happen if Turner is found before the game. His whereabouts remain unknown.