A 40-year-old Arkansas man is facing four felony charges in a case involving 16-year-old Sophia Franklin from Beaver Dam who is the subject of an active Amber Alert.

Gary F. Day of Cabot, Arkansas, was charged Tuesday with two counts of child abduction and two counts of child enticement.

The teen is three months pregnant and Day is the father, according to the Amber Alert and criminal complaint.

“Right now, we don’t know where they are,” Beaver Dam Police Chief John Kreuziger told the Journal Sentinel on Wednesday. “We are getting tips from all over the place. Our goal is to get her back as quickly as we can and as safely as we can.”

Sophia is described by police as a white female, 5 feet, 9 inches tall, and weighing roughly 186 pounds. She has brown hair and blue eyes.

Day is described by police as a white male, 5 feet, 7 inches tall, and weighing roughly 165 pounds. He has blonde hair and green eyes.

Anyone with information is asked to call 888-304-3936 or 911.

The complaint says that Sophia met Day online and developed a relationship with him. The two were aware of consent laws in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Arkansas.

The teen and her parents had a strained relationship; Day had earlier taken Sophie to Arkansas without her parents’ knowledge. When she returned to Wisconsin, Day sent the teen several messages beginning Jan. 26 threatening to harm himself because they were separated.

Days later an Amber Alert was issued for Sophia.

Kreuziger said his department is working with the Wisconsin Department of Justice’s Division of Criminal Investigation and the Lonoke County Sheriff’s Department in Arkansas.

According to the criminal complaint, Sophia’s father alerted the Beaver Dam Police Department of his daughter’s disappearance on Sunday by emailing a detective a home surveillance video that showed “a male appearing to be Gary Day” walking toward the family’s house at 7:48 a.m. Sunday.

An Amber Alert was issued Monday after Sophia’s sister reported seeing a black Buick LaCrosse, later confirmed to belong to Day, parked with its engine running a block from the family’s home.

Day had previously taken Sophia out of state

This is the second time Day has driven to Wisconsin and taken Sophia from her home.

Day and Sophia met online in April 2024, and he drove to Wisconsin to take her to Arkansas in July, according to the criminal complaint.

Sophia’s parents first learned she was living with Day in Arkansas on Dec. 10, when officers with the Austin Police Department went to Day’s home. He was on probation and parole and was being investigated for crimes against children, according to the complaint.

Sophia’s parents told officers she had not returned home one night “back in July.” They contacted the Beaver Dam Police Department to discuss the situation, then decided against listing her as missing “because she was still around Beaver Dam” and working at McDonald’s.

Her parents said they stayed in “constant contact with her” but never saw her and “were under the impression” she was staying in Beaver Dam “with a friend.”

When officers showed up at Day’s house Dec. 10, Sophia explained that Day “came and got me” from Wisconsin on July 29. She said they arrived at his Arkansas home on Aug. 1. The two had met online in April, according to the complaint.

Sophia told officers the two made their way back to Arkansas after spending a night at a Madison hotel and eating at Culver’s, then spending the next night at a hotel in Bloomington, Illinois, according to the complaint.

According to the complaint, Sophia said Day knew “from the get-go” she was 16.

Sophia told the officers she had been living with Day since August and he was providing her “food, shelter and clothing” and that they planned to get married. She initially denied they were sexually active, according to the complaint.

When further questioned by officers, Sophia said they were sexually active, adding “I just don’t want him to get in trouble.”

The complaint states Sophia and Day waited until they were in Arkansas to be sexually active because “they knew it was illegal in Wisconsin and Illinois.” In Wisconsin, it’s illegal for an adult to engage in sexual activity with a minor.

Sophia was returned to her parent’s Beaver Dam home in December. Sophia’s parents were “shocked” to learn she was living in Arkansas, according to the complaint. Her mother told officers Sophia told her she had “hitchhiked her way to Arkansas.” She believed Sophia was “in a position where she would be defending” the man she was spending time with, the complaint says.

On Feb. 1, two days prior to the Amber Alert being issued, Sophia’s father contacted Beaver Dam police, informing them she was “doing well at home.”

He also informed them of a Google account he and Sophia’s mother had discovered the previous evening. They did not mention it to Sophia but gave their permission for the police department to review the account.

A Beaver Dam detective determined Sophia was communicating through an email account later determined to belong to Day.

According to the complaint, Day told Sophia through several messages that “I want nothing to do with you,” “Suicide, you win, goodbye,” and “no one will care.”

Sophia responds with, “I’ll care and so will our daughter.” She then tells Day she has named the unborn child Ava.

“I know how much you wanted a girl and I know how much you care for your children,” Sophia emailed to Day, according to the complaint.

“Tell her I’m dead,” was Day’s response.

The last message included in the complaint states: “I stayed out past curfew. Probation. And I didn’t notice. I’m done.”

Police said Sophia and Day are likely traveling in a 2014 black Buick LaCrosse. Chief Kreuziger stressed they are swapping out license plates. The vehicle was last seen using a Pennsylvania license plate number KGW518 on Monday morning in Wisconsin.

Jessica Van Egeren is a general assignment reporter and assistant breaking news editor with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She can be reached at jvanegeren@gannett.com.