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Nearly two weeks after a decorated Virginia high school coach mysteriously disappeared amid a child pornography investigation, the U.S. Marshals Service has announced it is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for any information leading to his arrest.
Federal authorities are warning Travis L. Turner, 46, “may be armed” while urging anyone who may come in contact with him to exercise caution after he was last seen walking into a wooded area behind his Appalachia home while carrying a firearm on Nov. 20, according to the U.S. Marshals Service.
Last week, authorities obtained 10 warrants to charge Turner with five counts of possession of child pornography and five counts of using a computer to solicit a minor.
Turner was first reported missing as officers with the Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation’s Wytheville Field Office were en route to his Appalachia home to speak with him about the investigation on Nov. 21, according to authorities. Officials had visited Turner’s home one-day prior, and were returning only to speak with him and not make any arrests, police said.
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“VSP is still searching for Turner with the assistance of the FBI and U.S. Marshals Service,” VSP spokesperson Robin Lawson said in statement to Fox News Digital.
The USMS announced the reward on Monday. Turner was last seen walking into a “heavily wooded and mountainous area” on Nov. 20, Adrian Collins, an attorney for the coach’s family, said in a statement obtained by WCYB.
“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 statement reads, clarifying that no warrants for his arrest had been made prior to his disappearance.
When Turner failed to return home later that evening, his wife reportedly notified local law enforcement of her husband’s disappearance. However, authorities told her that she had to wait 24 hours to file a missing-person report, which she submitted the next day, according to the statement.
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In addition to authorities using K-9 units, drones and foot patrols to locate Turner, his family has reportedly launched their own search for the missing coach and are fully cooperating with authorities, according to the attorney’s statement.
The update comes on the heels of Turner’s wife, Leslie Caudill Turner – who shares three children with the coach – deleting her social media profiles over the weekend, according to The New York Post.
She previously used the accounts to celebrate the decorated football coach’s undefeated season – along with sharing photos of family and friends, along with countless images of her children on the sports fields.
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The deletion follows Turner’s staff profile page being removed from Union High School’s website shortly after the investigation was announced, ABC 7 reported.
In a previous statement, a spokesperson for Wise County Public Schools confirmed that a staff member employed by the district had been placed on administrative leave pending review of an external allegation. Days later, the district released an updated statement to acknowledge that charges have since been filed against the staff member in question, but failed to identify Turner by name.
“The individual remains on leave and is not permitted on school property or to have contact with students,” Superintendent Mike Goforth said. “The division will continue to cooperate with law enforcement as this process moves forward. Because this is an active legal matter involving personnel, the division cannot comment further.”
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Turner’s family attorney, the VSP and USMS did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Turner was last seen wearing a gray sweatshirt, sweatpants and glasses, according to Virginia’s missing person database. Tips can be reported to 911, Virginia State Police or the USMS tip line at 1-877-WANTED2 or online usmarshals.gov/tips.
Fox News Digital’s Sarah Rumpf-Whitten and Michael Dorgan contributed to this report.
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