A pregnant Wisconsin teenager who went missing in February was found on her 17th birthday with a 40-year-old man police say is the father of her unborn child.
Sophia Franklin was discovered in Nebraska on Wednesday, April 2, nearly two months after she went missing from her home in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, the Beaver Dam Police Department announced on Thursday.
Gary F. Day was arrested on several charges, including abduction, according to online court records.
Sophia was reported missing on February 3, one day after she was last seen at her Beaver Dam home, according to police. An Amber Alert named Day as the suspect in her alleged kidnapping.
The suspect allegedly met Sophia online in April 2024, according to FOX 6 Now, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and WISN.
Day allegedly traveled to Wisconsin and took Sophia to Arkansas, where she remained for months before being found by local police, according to FOX 6 Now and the Journal Sentinel.
Day allegedly kidnapped Sophia in July and held her until December, police said.
Sophia’s parents later restricted her online access, but Day allegedly continued to communicate with the child, according to court records obtained by FOX 6 Now.
“The whole situation scares me,” Sophia’s mother, Leah Franklin, previously told the Journal Sentinel. “Never in my wildest dreams did I think this would happen.”
Sophia and Day were spotted at a truck stop on Wednesday evening, which also happened to be Sophia’s 17th birthday, by a couple who became suspicious after speaking with the child, according to police.
According to police, Sophia and the unborn child are safe and healthy.
