Wife of Missing Football Coach Wanted on Child Pornography Charges Didn't Help Him Escape: Lawyer By Sean Neumann

An attorney for the family of missing high school football coach Travis Turner said this week that the Virginia fugitive’s wife was not helping him escape when he went missing late last month.

Turner, 46, was last seen on Nov. 20, less than a week before Virginia State Police announced 10 warrants for his arrest on five counts of possession of child pornography and five counts of using a computer to solicit a minor.

“His wife was not helping him escape, she was asking for help to find him,” the family’s attorney Adrian Collins said in a statement to the media, reported by local WCYB.

“The family of Travis Turner continues to cooperate with law enforcement efforts to locate Travis,” Collins continued in his statement. “Their homes and properties have been searched multiple times, with their consent.”

The family’s attorney added: “While the family’s last contact with Travis causes them to have great concern for his well being, they cling to the hope he will be found and afforded the opportunity to defend himself in a court of law.”

A spokesperson for the Virginia State Police Department would not comment when PEOPLE asked them about investigators’ interest in Turner’s wife.

“There are no updates to share at this time,” the state police spokesperson said. “The search efforts are ongoing with the assistance of the Marshals Service and FBI. We are still asking for the public’s assistance in providing any information that may lead to Turner’s whereabouts.”

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Earlier this week, PEOPLE reported that Turner’s wife allegedly told police she last saw her husband walking into the woods near their home in Appalachia, Va., on Nov. 20, one day before she officially reported him missing to local authorities.

Turner’s disappearance came just days before his undefeated Union High School boy’s football team began the Virginia state playoffs, sending shockwaves through the local community as questions swirled around his whereabouts.

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In his statement this week, Collins included “a recap with some additional details” about what the Turner family says happened, according to WCYB.

“Travis was last seen by some of his family as he was walking off into the local woods near his home with a firearm,” Collins reiterated in his statement on behalf of the family. “This was something he had done multiple times throughout the years. When he did not return to his home that evening, his wife, out of concern, asked for assistance from law enforcement. As directed, she filed a missing person report the following day with the Virginia State Police.”

Collins added that Turner’s “wife’s concerns were heightened by the following facts: Travis’ car and keys were left at home. Travis wore contact lenses by day and glasses in the evenings. Travis’ contact lens supplies and glasses were left at home. Travis’ wallet, license, cash, and all its contents were left in the home. Travis is prescribed certain daily medications which he needs, those were left in the home.”

“It is not like Travis to disappear or stay away from home,” Collins said, noting that “criminal charges were not obtained against Travis until days after he failed to return home.”

The family’s attorney also included a plea to Turner: “If Travis has the ability and is able to respond to his family’s wishes; your wife and children are in distress,” Collins said. “Leslie pleads for you to come home and face the allegations by defending yourself in a court of law. Don’t leave your family to fight this battle without you. They love and miss you. They want you to know they are your support.”

PEOPLE reached out to Collins multiple times this week for more information but has not heard back as of Thursday, Dec. 4.

Turner is now considered a fugitive by Virginia State Police, according to reports from ABC News, WCYB and WJHL, as authorities continue searching for him this week.