Amber alert issued for Wisconsin teen believed to be with a 40-year-old man, her unborn child’s father

An Amber alert was issued yesterday, Feb. 6, for a pregnant 16-year-old Beaver Dam, WI girl who police believe is with a 40-year-old man known to be the father of her child. That man, Gary Day, has a warrant for his arrest in Arkansas for child abduction and enticement.

According to Milwaukee’s FOX 6 Now, Day and the teen Sophia Franklin, who is three months pregnant, met online and began communicating in April last year. Franklin disappeared once before, around that same time, when Day traveled from Arkansas to Franklin’s Wisconsin home and then returned. Franklin was missing for months as authorities searched the Beaver Dam area, about 50 miles north of Madison.

Arkansas police found Franklin with Day, and she returned to her parents last year when a no-communication court order was granted to prevent Day and Franklin from contacting each other. But in January, Franklin’s parents say they discovered an online argument between them, proving communication had resumed.

At that time, Day was already on probation for an abuse conviction and wearing an ankle bracelet. Citing a criminal complaint, Milwaukee’s TMJ4 says Day is also currently under investigation in Arkansas for crimes against children.

Security camera footage and a criminal record

According to Milwaukee’s Spectrum News 1, authorities think Day and Franklin are together because a neighbor’s home security camera footage showed a man who appeared to be Day behaving suspiciously near a home in Beaver Dam. That same man was seen driving a Buick LaCrosse, the same kind of car Day’s mother confirmed her son drives.

Spectrum News also revealed details of Day’s criminal record, including a 2019 incident when Day served a 72-month prison sentence after a 4-month-old child in his care was determined to have a broken leg due to blunt force trauma, among other signs of abuse. Day has several other charges, such as when he pled guilty in 2020 to endangering the welfare of a minor, and two years ago, he was charged with domestic battering in the second degree involving a child, but those charges were later dropped.

Day’s most recent Lonoke County, AR charges came in December last year involving interference with custody and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. He is expected to be arraigned on those charges in late February. Day has been married twice, and his most recent divorce was finalized last year.

Day could be switching license plates

According to the Beaver Dam Police Department, Franklin was last seen at her Beaver Dam home on the evening of Feb. 2 and is believed to have left with Day early the next morning. Reports say Day and Franklin are traveling in a black Buick LaCrosse with Arkansas license plate BBR 20L. But Beaver Dam police later added that Day could be switching plates to evade arrest. The same car was later spotted with a Pennsylvania license plate, KGW5186, according to Beaver Dam PD.

Meanwhile, the Lonoke County Sheriff’s Office believes Franklin and Day could be in the Austin, AR, area just 30 miles outside Little Rock. Franklin is described as 5 feet 9 inches tall and about 186 pounds with blue eyes and brown hair. Day is described as 5-foot-7 inches tall and 165 pounds with green eyes and blonde hair.

Beaver Dam authorities have asked anyone with information about Day and Franklin’s whereabouts to contact the Beaver Dam Police Department at 920-887-4612 or the Amber Alert tip line at 888-304-3936. In Arkansas, the Lonoke County Sheriff’s Office has asked anyone with a tip to [email protected], call 911, or 501-676-3000.