Arkansas man charged in abduction of pregnant Wisconsin teen

An Arkansas man has been charged in the abduction of a 16-year-old girl who is three months pregnant from Wisconsin.

Gary Francis Day, 40, was charged with two counts of abduction of a child and two counts of child enticement on Tuesday in connection with the disappearance of Sophia Martha Franklin.

An Amber Alert for Franklin was issued on Monday. Wisconsin Amber Alert said Franklin and Day might be traveling in a 2014 black Buick LaCrosse, using an Arkansas license plate number BBR 20L or a Pennsylvania license plate with the number KGW 5186.

Law enforcement is still actively searching for Franklin and Day.

RELATED: Amber Alert issued for missing pregnant 16-year-old in Wisconsin

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.

Franklin told her parents she was staying with a friend in Beaver Dam, and her parents consistently communicated with her over the course of the next several months, according to the complaint.

However, on Dec. 8, 2024, Franklin’s parents were contacted by law enforcement in Arkansas and told that she was there.

According to the complaint, Franklin told officials at a child advocacy center that she started talking to Day online in April of 2024. That month, she hitch-hiked to Arkansas, and Day picked her up.

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. The 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.

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 she was pregnant with Day’s child. She added 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.

On Feb. 1, 2025, Franklin’s parents contacted law enforcement and said that Franklin and Day had been chatting online again.

Court documents state law enforcement reviewed the online messages and found Day threatening suicide.

On Monday, Franklin’s family told law enforcement that she was missing again.

Surveillance video from Franklin’s house showed a man appearing to be Day, wearing blank plants, a black long-sleeve shirt and a grey winter hat, walking near the house on Monday morning.

A vehicle matching Day’s vehicle description was seen parked one block south of Franklin’s home on Monday morning, the complaint added. The same vehicle was later seen on Wisconsin Department of Transportation (DOT) cameras traveling southbound on Highway 151 near Sun Prairie around 8:30 a.m. on Sunday, about 45 minutes after being captured on surveillance camera at Franklin’s home.

Franklin is described as being 5’9″, weighing 186 lbs, with brown hair and blue eyes.

Day is 5’7″, weighing 165 lbs, with blonde hair and green eyes.

Anyone who has information on their whereabouts is asked to contact 888-304-3936 or 911.