Beaver Dam pregnant teen found safe after 2 months, suspected abductor in custody

A pregnant teen believed to have been abducted by the father of her unborn child has reportedly been found and is safe.

5 EYEWITNESS NEWS partner WBAY reports that Sophia Franklin, 17, who went missing on Feb. 3, has been found and is safe, according to Beaver Dam Police. They also report her alleged abductor, Gary Day, 40, has been arrested and is in custody.

On Thursday, Beaver Dam Police said their department was contacted at 11:40 p.m. Tuesday by the Sarpy County Sheriff’s Office in southeastern Nebraska.

Deputies in Nebraska told police they had received a tip of a possible sighting of Day and Franklin near Omaha.

Law enforcement later made contact with the two and confirmed their identities as Sophia Franklin and Gary Day.

Franklin was taken to a secure facility to await re-unification with her family while Day was taken into custody. He is currently being housed by the Sarpy County Sheriff’s Office in Nebraska.

Day had been previously charged with two counts of abduction of a child and two counts of child enticement in connection to her disappearance.

An Amber Alert for Franklin was issued on Feb. 3, when she was 16 years old and three months pregnant. It was the second time that the teenager had gone missing.

According to a criminal complaint, Franklin’s parents said she first went missing from Beaver Dam, Wis., in July of 2024.

At that time, law enforcement didn’t list her as missing because she was believed to still be in Beaver Dam and with her employer, according to the complaint, unaware that Franklin and Day had actually travelled to Arkansas together.

Franklin said Day told her he was going through a divorce and custody battle, adding that Day said the mother of his children was abusive. However, a criminal complaint notes that Day was charged with child abuse in Arkansas and, at that time, was serving probation for that conviction.

Later, when speaking to law enforcement, Franklin admitted that Day picked her up in Wisconsin on July 29, 2024, and the two of them arrived in Arkansas on Aug. 1, adding that the two of them had refrained from sexual activity until they got to Arkansas, as they “knew it was illegal in Wisconsin and Illinois,” the complaint states.

The complaint adds that Franklin said Day knew she was 16 years old, and had known since April, when they began communicating online.

Franklin also told law enforcement that she was pregnant with Day’s child.

Surveillance video from the day Franklin disappeared showed a man appearing to be Day, wearing black pants, a black long-sleeve shirt and a grey winter hat, walking near the house the day she went missing.

The teen’s disappearance triggered an Amber Alert, which was cancelled when she was found.