High School Football Coach in Virginia Disappears in Middle of Undefeated Season
A high school football coach in Virginia has disappeared in the middle of an undefeated season.
Things were going well for Coach Travis Lee Turner and the Union High School Bears, who had won a dozen games in a row and were two games short of the state championship, according to CNN.
Then he went missing.
To the surprise of people in his hometown of Big Stone Gap, VA, Turner ended up in the State of Virginia's missing persons database. He was still listed in the database on November 24. His wife posted a statement on Facebook asking for prayers.
The alert described him as 46, 6 foot 3 inches tall, 260 pounds, and missing from Wise County, Virginia. It says he disappeared on November 20, 2025, and was last seen "wearing a gray sweatshirt and sweatpants and glasses." The alert is accompanied by two photos of Turner.
Travis Lee Turner Works as a Gym Teacher & Head Football Coach at Union High School
Turner is still listed on the Union High School's website, which says he is a "PE Teacher/Head Football Coach/Boys Track Coach."
According to CNN, Virginia State Police special agents "were sent to his home in Appalachia," on the evening of November 20, a Thursday. They were there for "the early stages of an investigation," but they didn't go there to arrest him, CNN reported.
“While in transit, the agents were informed that Turner was no longer at the location,” the agency told CNN. It's not clear what this investigation was about.
There was a massive search effort to find Turner. "Dogs and drones" searched around the town of Appalachia, which is Turner's hometown, as Virginia State Police hoped to "locate Turner safely," NBC News reported.
Travis Turner Is On Administrative Leave, Although It's Not Clear Why
Wise County Public School Superintendent Mike Goforth told NBC News that Turner was on administrative leave, but, again, it was unclear why.
"A staff member has been placed on administrative leave with pay while an external agency reviews an allegation that was reported to the division," Goforth said in a statement to NBC News.
"This is standard procedure and is not a determination of wrongdoing," the statement said. "This situation also involves an active law-enforcement matter, and the division cannot comment further.
Travis Turner's Wife Leslie Turner Wrote That the Family 'Need Him Here With Us'
Wife of missing football coach Travis Turner breaks silence after husband mysteriously vanishes: ‘Keep praying’ https://t.co/OJ1HOgPQO0 pic.twitter.com/CsTaNoEyJO
— New York Post (@nypost) November 25, 2025
Leslie Turner, Turner's wife, posted a statement to Facebook and then deleted it, The New York Post reported.
“I just wanted to get on here for a second to clear up something, as of right now, 10:25 PM on Friday night, Travis is missing, & that’s all we know. We love him & need him here with us. Thank you to everyone who has reached out with love & support. It means more than you know. Just keep praying that he comes home,” she wrote on Facebook, according to The New York Post.
Turner's wife Leslie Caudill-Turner frequently posts family photos of her husband and their three kids to her Facebook page and touts his football games. In fact, most of her recent posts about his football games.
"Game day! Good luck to my guys today & to all of Unions football team & coaches #GoBears #UnionBearsFootball #coachswife #coachsmom #footballwife #playoffs," she wrote on November 15.