Wife of Missing Football Coach Wanted on Child Pornography Charges Didn’t Help Him Escape: Lawyer

The family of wanted Virginia high school football coach Travis Turner says he was last seen walking into the woods with a firearm last month

Credit : Virginia State Police

NEED TO KNOW

An attorney for the family of wanted Virginia high school football coach Travis Turner said in a statement this week that Turner’s wife did not assist him in escaping police
Turner was last seen by his wife on Nov. 20, one day before she reported him missing to police
Five days after his disappearance, Virginia State Police announced 10 charges against Turner related to the possession of child pornography and using a computer to solicit a minor

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 PEOPLE.

“The family of Travis Turner continues to cooperate with law enforcement efforts to locate Travis,” Collins’ statement continued. “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.”

Travis Turner.WJHL/YouTube

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.

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

“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 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.”

Virginia State Police

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.

Travis Turner’s high school football team is dumped out of playoffs as hunt for fugitive coach ramps up in the wake of gruesome new theory

The Union High School football team suffered playoff heartbreak on Saturday as the search for their missing head coach goes on.

Travis Turner led the team to an undefeated season before vanishing from his family home in Appalachia, Virginia, on November 20 when cops were on their way to speak to him.

His family said he left the property armed with a gun and walked into a ‘heavily wooded and mountainous area.’ Days later, father-of-three Turner was charged on 10 counts of child pornography and solicitation of a minor.

Even as the search goes on, his players continued their pursuit of a championship. But on Saturday, the Bears were beaten in the Class 2 State Semifinals game by Glenvar.

Union lost 21-20 despite the local community rallying around the team. The Bears were undone by a failed two-point conversion attempt.

‘As we were driving them, we were all in agreement, and the kids wanted to go for two – they wanted to go get the win and get it done right there,’ said interim coach Jason Edwards, who has taken over in Turner’s absence.

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Travis Turner vanished into the woods on November 20 and has yet to be found by police

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Leslie, who has been married to Turner for 25 years, has previously told the Daily Mail that the accusations against her husband are untrue

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The family’s attorney said in a statement that they stand behind the father of three

‘It obviously didn’t work out. But… they can tell their kids and grandkids about [this season].’

Turner has coached at Union since 2011. Together with his wife of 25 years, Leslie, he has three children: sons Bailey, 25, Grayden, 21, and daughter Brynlee, 11.

There have been no known sightings of Turner since he disappeared and police are yet to announce any major breakthrough in the hunt. A 25-year law enforcement veteran last week warned that his body may never be recovered if he has taken his own life in the remote area of Virginia he fled to.

Dr Ken Lang also told the Daily Mail that the $5,000 reward for information leading to Turner’s arrest is unlikely to be enough to convince those closest to him to turn on the 46-year-old.

He said Daily Mail: ‘That’s a pretty remote, densely wooded area. We’re in the cold time of the year and so at night, if we’re looking for somebody, we would send helicopters up and use Forward-Looking Infrared (FLIR) to look for body heat.

‘But sometimes it’s hard to discern between that and say a deer that has bedded down for the night or other animals.

‘If they’re not seeing that with FLIR and if he’s taken his life and his body would have cooled off, you wouldn’t get any reaction. Then you have animals out there that would actually pick at and pick apart the body and take pieces of it away, which then becomes problematic.

‘Your search then starts to focus on clothing and remnants and things that you would have expected him to be in at the time. It just becomes harder. It almost becomes like looking for a needle in the haystack, particularly in that region of the Appalachian Mountains.’