A pregnant Wisconsin teen has been found after an urgent two-month search, along with the 40-year-old man believed to be the father of her child, the New York Post reported.
Sophia Franklin was located before midnight on Wednesday, which was her 17th birthday, with 40-year-old Gary Day near Omaha Nebraska, which is around 500 miles away from her home in Beaver Dam, a WISN report detailed.
A multi-state Amber Alert that expanded to Arkansas and Missouri was canceled on Thursday and Day was taken into custody after law enforcement received a tip.
Authorities found that Franklin had stayed with Day at his home in Cabot Arkansas for six months in 2024 and had been communicating online since April 2024. Franklin’s parents reportedly thought she was staying with a friend in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin.
Press ReleaseOn Wednesday, April 2, 2025, at approximately 11:40pm, the Beaver Dam Police Department was notified that…
Posted by Beaver Dam Police Department on Thursday, April 3, 2025
Police found Franklin at Day’s home in December when they were doing a probation check on Day. Day was on probation for felony domestic battery charges, according to the report.
“When they went to check on him, somebody ran out the back door, and that turned out to be a 16-year-old female from Wisconsin,” Lonoke County Sheriff John Staley said.
Franklin’s family reported her missing again on Feb.3, when she was 16-year-old and three months pregnant. She was last captured on security footage leaving her home the previous day, according to the local report. The doorbell camera also captured a man that appeared to be Day near her home, officials said.
Day is facing two counts of child abduction and two counts of child enticement for the February incident.
Franklin, who is now five months pregnant, were transported to a hospital where both she and her unborn baby were assessed and confirmed healthy, officials said.
“The Beaver Dam Police Department would like to thank the Sarpy County Sheriff’s Office, as well as the numerous other law enforcement agencies that put forth the time and effort to locate Sophia,” Beaver Dam Chief John Kreuziger said in a statement.
“We would also like to thank the community members in multiple states for their awareness and willingness to share leads to follow to help bring Sophia safely home,” Kreuziger said.
Sophia’s mother, Leah Franklin, said she is relieved her daughter is coming home and that Day is in custody.
“I’m ready to take the next steps for Sophie to be well and whole again and just so thankful that she is no longer with this man who has just totally not only violated our family’s privacy, but totally manipulated our daughter in many unfathomable ways,” Franklin said.
