BEAVER DAM, Wis. (TCN) — Authorities are searching for a pregnant 16-year-old who police believe ran away with the 40-year-old father of her child after they met online.
Sophia Franklin was reported missing to the Beaver Dam Police Department on Feb. 3. Police said she was last seen at her home the night prior at around 9 p.m., but she likely left at 7:48 a.m. on Feb. 3 with Gary Day in a black Buick LaCrosse with Arkansas license plates. Beaver Dam Police said the two “are believed to no longer be in Beaver Dam,” and there is a no-contact order between them.
Police said in an update that the car was tracked with Pennsylvania plates, but the car “has utilized various license plates.”
Beaver Dam Police issued an Amber Alert for Franklin, who is three months pregnant.
There is a warrant out for Day’s arrest on charges of two counts of child abduction and two counts of child enticement.
Day pleaded guilty in May 2020 to child endangerment in Arkansas and was sentenced to six years of probation. Court documents show he broke his probation by traveling out of Arkansas, among other violations.
WKOW-TV reports Franklin’s parents told police that the teen snuck out of the house and often messaged strangers online. In July, she reportedly didn’t come home one night, but her parents believed she was staying at a friend’s house. They still communicated with Franklin over the phone, but didn’t see her.
Day allegedly picked Franklin up in Wisconsin on July 29, and they got to Arkansas on Aug. 1. In December, authorities in Arkansas called Franklin’s parents and told them she was there. Franklin allegedly confessed to lying to her parents regarding her whereabouts, but she claimed she wanted to be with Day rather than her family.
Franklin reportedly said she and Day waited to have sex until they got to Arkansas because “they knew it was illegal in Wisconsin and Illinois.” She later returned to Wisconsin, but the two continued talking.
According to court records cited by KARK-TV, Day knew she was 16 and that she was pregnant with his child.
Franklin reportedly has a no-contact order against Day, which the court issued on Franklin’s behalf. Franklin’s dad told investigators he saw a man who resembled Day on surveillance video entering his home and again behind the house.
MORE:
- Amber Alert / Missing Juvenile – Beaver Dam Police Department
- State of Wisconsin vs. Gary Francis Day
- State of Arkansas v. Gary Day
- Amber Alert Wisconsin
- Court documents reveal new information into missing Beaver Dam 16-year-old girl – WKOW
- AMBER Alert suspect from Arkansas facing Wisconsin charges, teen still missing – KARK
Source: True Crime Daily
