Clues point to missing high school football coach still being alive: Experts
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Two months after Union High School football coach Travis Turner went missing, two experts explained why there’s reason to believe he’s still alive.
Former FBI agent Jennifer Doebler said it all has to do with the U.S. Marshals Service, who joined the manhunt for Turner just days after he went missing on November 20, 2025, and have not been called off.
“The U.S. Marshals don’t look for a deceased person,” Doebler told The U.S. Sun in a story published on Saturday, January 17. “So, U.S. Marshals have not officially stepped out, which means they cannot rule out that he sheltered in place or somehow made it to another location.”
Doebler, who is not directly affiliated with the Turner case, said law enforcement is “probably keeping in very close contact with Turner’s immediate family” for two reasons.
“To continue to communicate with them and ask them questions about where Turner could possibly be, but it’s also to see if Turner reached out,” Doebler explained. “In my opinion, if Turner is still alive, and if Turner was able to make it to another location, there will very likely come a time where he will try to reach out to his wife and children.”
She added, “So, I would think that the marshals would stay in contact and continue interviewing, continue their relationship, and continue looking at other avenues.”
Turner and his wife, Leslie Caudill Turner, share three children: sons Bailey, 25, and Grayden, 20, and daughter Brynlee, 11.
The football coach was last seen walking into the woods behind his family’s home while carrying a rifle, though he left important items like his medication and glasses behind.
Shortly after he disappeared, Turner was charged with five counts of child pornography and five counts of using a computer to solicit a minor.
In a statement to Us Weekly via their attorney on December 3, 2025, the Turner family said they were continuing to cooperate with the investigation into Travis’ disappearance.
“Their homes and properties have been searched multiple times, with their consent,” the statement said.
Irving Brandt, a retired deputy U.S. Marshal, also said there are hints that Turner may still be alive.
“A person usually leaves something behind to allow the people to know for closure, say that they moved on from this world,” Brandt told The Sun. “And this wasn’t the case.”
Brandt added, “After the warrants were issued and the United States Marshal Service became involved, it became a fugitive investigation because he’s wanted on specific crimes. And fugitive investigations, a manhunt that can be nationwide or worldwide, each one is unique in itself, and it depends a lot upon the person’s resources.”
The former marshal explained that a fugitive like Turner staying missing for two months “isn’t easy.”
“You need some kind of support,” Brandt said. “You need some kind of financial support. You need the ability to travel.”
When contacted by Us, the Virginia State Police had no update on Turner’s case and said the investigation into his disappearance remains ongoing.
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