Fugitive football coach Travis Turner was still being paid by his Virginia high school employer days after he fled from cops seeking to question him over alleged child sex crimes.

The alarming news comes as it becomes clear Turner also taught classes at Union High School in Big Stone Gap, and would have had regular access to the student body.

Turner, 46, was on “paid administrative leave” as of Monday — at least four days after he apparently split town while cops were on the way to question him over accusations he possessed child porn and tried to have sex with a minor.

It’s unclear when his paid leave actually began, but Wise County Public Schools said Monday it was spurred by an “allegation that was reported to the division.”

That means Turner was being paid while the school district was aware allegations of child sex crimes had been made against its star football coach — who had also gone missing in the thick of a police investigation into those same allegations days earlier.

Turner — longtime coach for Union High, and a local celebrity in the football-loving community of Big Stone Gap — seemingly vanished without a trace and authorities have released little information on the investigation or updates on the search.

Even less is known about the charges against him, and in the absence of official information, some in the tight-knit community have begun to whisper that claims of misconduct about Turner have swirled for years.

The alleged sex offender and dad of three wasn’t just a coach spending his days with a small group of football players.

Turner was also a physical education teacher at the school of about 600 students, which requires most of its coaches to also teach.

That means he would have had regular contact with kids from across the student body on a daily basis.

Turner’s family has strongly denied the allegations against him, saying that he is a good family man and that they only want to see him safely back home.

His charges were announced by Virginia State Police late Monday after his paid leave was confirmed. The school district later updated its statement to acknowledge charges against “a staff member who has been on administrative leave.”

But his place at the center of an alarming investigation was public knowledge by Saturday — two days after he’d gone missing and two days after the school confirmed he was on paid leave.

“The individual remains on leave and is not permitted on school property or to have contact with students,” the district reiterated Tuesday, declining to clarify whether he was being paid.

Wise County also declined to provide a timeline of when it knew about the allegations against Turner, the nature of the investigation into him, or his flight.

The holiday travel season is nearly upon us and Virginia State Police is asking everyone to buckle up every time you enter a vehicle. During the last two Thanksgiving holidays, more than half of the fatal crashes involved someone not wearing a seatbelt, or seatbelt use could not be determined. Last year, there were eight fatalities, and in only two crashes could it be determined that the crash victim was wearing a seatbelt (there was one fatal crash on a motorcycle in 2024).*

Virginia law changed this year to require everyone in a vehicle, no matter where they are seated, to be appropriately restrained. Previously, only those under the age of 18, and those in the front seat, had to wear a seatbelt or be in an age-appropriate restraint.

“As we gather with loved ones this Thanksgiving, I’m reminded of how quickly a family can be changed forever. My son Christopher was just 18 when he was killed in a crash where a seat belt could have saved his life. That loss is why we advocated the new Christopher King Seat Belt Law — to honor him by protecting others,” said Christy King, founder of the Christopher King Foundation, and one of the proponents of the new seatbelt law. “We urge every Virginian to please buckle up, every trip, every time. It’s the simplest act of love you can give your family this holiday season.”

“We want Virginians to spend time with their families this Thanksgiving,” said Colonel Matthew D. Hanley, Superintendent of Virginia State Police. “We also want them to get to their destination and back home safely. We are asking everyone to please buckle up, as well as driver sober, distraction-free, and under the speed limit this holiday.”

Virginia State Police’s Thanksgiving efforts coincide with the annual “Click It or Ticket” campaign and Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) winter holidays DUI-prevention campaign. Both are educational and enforcement-oriented traffic safety initiatives aimed at saving lives on Virginia’s highways through increased usage of seat belts and the deterrence of driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs.

Virginia State Police will be, once again, participating in Operation C.A.R.E. – Crash Awareness and Reduction Effort. State troopers will be increasing their presence on Virginia’s roads during the five-day holiday statistical counting period. The period starts at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 26, and runs through 11:59 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025.

The 2024 Thanksgiving Holiday CARE initiative led to troopers citing 404 people for not wearing a seatbelt and writing 116 citations for child restraint violations. Seventy-seven people were arrested for
Driving Under the Influence. Three-thousand-six-hundred-thirty-eight (3,638) drivers were cited for speeding, and over 1,700 drivers were cited for reckless driving.

Overall, state troopers responded to 1,182 crashes, 129 of which resulted in injuries.

Funds generated from summonses issued by Virginia State Police go directly to court fees and the state’s Literary Fund, which benefits public school construction, technology funding and teacher retirement.