Two months after the Union High School football coach Travis Turner disappeared, 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 United States Marshals Service joining the search for Turner within days of her disappearance on November 20, 2025, and that they have not been called off.
“U.S. Marshals are not looking for a dead person,” Doebler said The US sun in a story published on Saturday, January 17. “So the U.S. Marshals haven’t officially come out, which means they can’t rule out that he took refuge at the site or that he somehow made it to another location.”
Doebler, who is not directly affiliated with the Turner case, said law enforcement is “probably in very close contact with Turner’s immediate family” for two reasons.
Union High School football coach Travis Turner disappeared in November 2025 as his undefeated team chased state championships. In the wake of his disappearance, news broke that the high school football coach left his home while agents from the Virginia Bureau of Criminal Investigation were going to talk to him about child pornography (…)
“To continue to communicate with them and ask them questions about where Turner might be, but it’s also to see if Turner made contact,” Doebler explained. “In my opinion, if Turner is still alive and if Turner was able to get to another location, there will most likely come a time when he will try to contact his wife and children.”
He added: “So I think the marshals would stay in touch and continue to interview each other, continue their relationship and continue to pursue other avenues.”
Turner and his wife, Leslie Caudill Turnershares three children: sons Bailey25 i Grayden20 years old and daughter Brynlee11.
The football coach was last seen walking through the woods behind his family’s home while carrying a rifle, although he left behind important items such as medication and glasses.
Shortly after her disappearance, 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 through 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 several times, with their consent,” the statement said.
Irving Brandta retired deputy U.S. marshal, also said there are indications that Turner may still be alive.
“A person usually leaves something behind to let people know to close, to say they’re gone from this world,” Brandt said. The Sun. “And that was not the case.”
Brandt added, “After the warrants were issued and the U.S. Marshals Service got involved, it became a fugitive investigation because he’s wanted for specific crimes. And fugitive investigations, a manhunt that can be national or global, each one is unique in itself and very dependent on the individual’s resources.”
The former marshal explained that a fugitive like Turner being 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, Virginia State Police did not have an update on Turner’s case and said the investigation into her disappearance remains ongoing.