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Missing pregnant teenager Sophia Franklin, who disappeared from her Wisconsin home in early February, was found on her 17th birthday with a 40-year-old man police say is the father of her unborn child.
Franklin was discovered Wednesday in Nebraska, nearly two months after her disappearance from her home in Beaver Dam. Wisconsin Police announced the discovery Thursday.
The man, Gary Day, has been arrested, and he faces a number of charges, including abduction, online court records reveal.
Franklin was reported missing on February 3, a day after she was last seen at her home, police reported at the time. An Amber Alert noted that Day was the suspect in her disappearance.
According to the authorities, Day met Franklin online in April of last year.
Some months after they began talking, Day made the trip to Wisconsin and took Franklin to Arkansas, where she was held from July to December, when she was found by local police, reported FOX 6 Now and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Sophia Franklin, 17, was found with Gary Day, 40, at a truck stop
Sophia Franklin, 17, was found with Gary Day, 40, at a truck stop (Wisconsin Department of Justice)
Day reportedly continued to reach out to Franklin online after she was returned to her parents’ home.
The teenager’s mother, Leah Franklin, previously told the Journal Sentinel: “The whole situation scares me. Never in my wildest dreams did I think this would happen.”
WMTV 15 reported that Day and Franklin were spotted at a truck stop Wednesday night by a couple who became suspicious after speaking to the teenager. Police have said that Franklin is safe and healthy.
Day faces two counts of abduction of a child and two counts of child enticement causing mental/bodily harm, according to online court records.