🔎⚠️ EIGHT MONTHS LATER, ONE QUESTION STILL HASN'T BEEN ANSWERED. Eight months after Travis Turner disappeared, the case remains unresolved, leaving loved ones and the community searching for answers. As the investigation continues, a frustrated parent is speaking out, urging anyone with information to come forward.

ANGRY parents are demanding answers and the removal of a high school principal over the disappearance of a football coach accused of child sex crimes which continues to haunt their community.

The U.S. Sun revealed earlier this year that married father-of-three Travis Turner was alleged to have sent sexually explicit texts and exposed himself to a 15-year-old pupil at Union High School in Virginia.

Turner is wanted on five counts of possession of child pornography and five counts of using a computer to solicit a minor.

The U.S. Sun understands an alleged meeting took place on November 18 between school officials and pupil in question, and Turner attended school the following day.

He was last seen on November 20 heading into the Appalachian woods carrying a firearm, with police later describing him as a fugitive.

He has not been seen since the allegations surfaced, and no body has been found.

Parent Stephen Murray, who has led calls for reform in Wise County, told The U.S. Sun that while the school district has introduced new safeguarding policies, not enough has been done to help the community recover from the fallout of the allegations.

Murray said no senior officials have been held accountable for what he described as the mishandling of the case, while the investigation into Turner’s disappearance remains at a standstill.

“Nothing has changed,” he said. “The case is sealed, there have been no signs of Travis Turner being found alive or dead, and there really hasn’t been any accountability.

“There’s been no signs of him alive, there’s been no signs of him dead. and as far as accountability goes, with the investigation, there really has been none.

“I think it’s vital that people in positions of power, no matter what position they hold, follow the law.”

The charges center on alleged text and picture exchanges between Turner and the pupil.

Turner is alleged to have exposed himself in the pictures during an exchange believed to have lasted around three months.

A family insider said school officials became aware of the alleged messages after overhearing the victim discussing them in the library.

TRAVIS TURNER TIMELINE

Before November 20:

Travis Turner was placed on paid administrative leave from his position as a high school football coach at Union High School.
Wise County Public Schools admitted he remained on leave until at least November 24.

November 20:

Virginia State Police authorities went to Turner’s home in Appalachia, Virginia, to question him as part of an investigation into child sex crimes.
Turner suddenly vanished from his property.
He was reportedly last seen walking into a wooded, mountainous area, which he is very familiar with, with a firearm.

November 21-24:

Turner was initially declared missing.
An urgent search was launched, deploying search-and-rescue teams, drones, and K9 units in the Appalachian hinterlands.

November 25:

Virginia state troopers announced that they had obtained 10 warrants for Turner’s arrest, including five counts of possession of child pornography and five counts of using a computer to solicit a minor.

December 6

Union High School Bears, the team Turner coached, loses their undefeated streak.

December 8

Wise County School District officials held their first board meeting since Turner’s disappearance. Public comment was banned from the meeting.

December 10

A Wise County judge ordered court records connected to Turner’s case sealed, further limiting what can be publicly confirmed as the manhunt remains ongoing.

Search continues:

Crews are continually searching for any sign of the coach.
Turner’s family have called for him to face the allegations in court in a message issued through their lawyer.

The girl’s family told The U.S. Sun they are furious with Union High School principal Jerred Chandler, claiming their daughter was interviewed about the texts and that the school failed to contact them at any point.

They also alleged that the school did not open a formal investigation.

According to the family, Chandler concluded that Turner had been communicating with someone impersonating another person, leaving officials with no basis for disciplinary action.

Despite the controversy, Chandler remains in his position, as does Wise County Superintendent Mike Goforth.

Murray is pushing for their removal, but has hit a brick wall.

“His role remains the same,” Murray lamented. “He was a key part of us getting the policies put in place. And although his actions were helpful, he’s buddies with the principal.

“They grew up together, so I feel like if the superintendent were to understand what took place with our victim, in being talked to without consent, and without her parents present, the superintendent would have a lot of sway with the school board to remove that individual who was in charge of that situation.

“But they’re longtime friends.”

The U.S. Sun contacted Goforth, but has yet to receive a response.

Following the scandal, the district introduced several policy changes that Murray said many parents had been advocating for.

The school has implemented a new anonymous online reporting portal where students can confidentially report any experiences, concerns, or behaviors that make them uncomfortable, including incidents they have witnessed, heard about, or experienced themselves.

To ensure impartiality and build trust, the system is monitored by an independent third-party organization rather than school staff.

Training requirements for administrators have also been strengthened, with more frequent sexual harassment and grooming prevention training.

The school has also expanded its oversight of communications between students and faculty.

Murray and his fellow advocates, however, want more.

“The school board and the superintendent have implemented some policies that many mothers and I in this county have been championing,” he continued.

“But I think the concern that a lot of us have, including myself and definitely the family of the victim, is the fact that the current administration is not being held accountable for what is widely known as the way this situation was handled.

“What I would like is that within the investigation, there are certain administrators that are part of it and eventually something will come out about everything.

“My hope is for some type of accountability or reprimand.”

Wild local rumors continue to surface in the area about Turner’s whereabouts, but concrete evidence as to his current status remain elusive.

Murray, whose teenage daughter attends Union High, said his concerns extend beyond his own family.

“We are very fortunate to have an incredibly intelligent and self aware teenage daughter, and someone who is also extremely honest,” Murray said.

“But what concerns me the most is sweeping it under the rug, and the long-term effect that that has on our kids, it demoralizes them. I want her and her friend to feel safe in all the decisions she makes in her school.

“This idolized coach has been missing for almost a year now and the trauma from that is already great. But imagine what it’s like for the kids who graduated and the kids who are about to graduate.

“The longer that we just don’t come to a conclusion, the greater the effects that this will have on this generation.I think people in power are really just hoping that after the policy changes and the case being sealed, we can just move on to the new school year.

“It’s just not right.”

The U.S. Sun contacted Virginia State Police, but hasn’t received a reply.