The wife of fugitive Virginia football coach Travis Turner quietly deleted her social media accounts, just as the family revealed that he was carrying a gun when he mysteriously disappeared amid an investigation into child pornography.
Leslie Caudill Turner, who has been married to Turner for 25 years, suddenly deleted her social media accounts after police last week issued 10 warrants for her husband’s arrest on child pornography and solicitation charges. He has since been missing, with police declaring him a fugitive. Before his sudden disappearance, Leslie — who shares three children with the small-town coach — was very active on Facebook, often posting updates about the high school football team’s victories.
Unexpected Move from Wife
Leslie also used her social media to share updates when her husband, the well-known head coach of Union High School in Big Stone Gap, Va., was reported missing. Travis vanished on November 20 after leaving their home in Appalachia, just as police were on their way to question him as part of their ongoing investigation.
Days after Turner went missing, police announced that he was wanted on five counts of child pornography and an additional five counts of using a computer to solicit a minor.
As the search for the missing father intensified, a family lawyer revealed on Friday that Turner was last seen leaving his home carrying a gun before disappearing into a heavily wooded area.
“The last known contact the family had with Travis occurred on or about Thursday, Nov. 20, after he left his residence to walk in the woods with a firearm,” the family’s attorney, Adrian Collins, said in a statement obtained by WJLA.
“He is believed to have entered a heavily wooded and mountainous area. At which point, no warrants had been issued for his arrest.”
Nothing Clear Yet
The lawyer also said that the family has been fully cooperating with police and has even organized their own search efforts to try to locate him.
“It is the family’s prayer that Travis is safe and will have the opportunity to defend himself in a court of law,” the lawyer said.
Meanwhile, Turner’s family has outrightly denied the allegations, describing the football coach as a “good dad and a good husband.”
“None of that is true,” his wife told the Daily Mail last week. “I don’t know anything. I don’t know anything. I’m sorry.”
