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'We just want you home': Family pleads for help finding Beaver Dam teen at the center of an Amber Alert

Leah Franklin
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BEAVER DAM, Wis. — A mother is pleading for help finding her 16-year-old daughter more than two weeks after an Amber Alert was issued.

Sophia Franklin is at the center of an Amber Alert in Wisconsin, Missouri, and Arkansas, where Day lives. Authorities say she is pregnant and believed to be with 40-year-old Gary Day, the father of her unborn baby.

"She is someone who is worth finding. Everyone is someone worth finding," Leah Franklin told TMJ4 News.

Franklin smiled as she described her 16-year-old daughter, whom she calls Sophia, as smart, tenacious, hard-working, and generous.

Sophia Franklin
Family shared this photo of Sophia in hopes it will help them find her.

The teen, who enjoys music and sports, was last seen at her Beaver Dam home on the night of February 2.

Franklin says Sophia was not feeling well. The next day, Franklin checked on Sophia and discovered she was gone. Security video from the family's doorbell showed 40-year-old Gary Day walking through the family's yard.

"I immediately called my husband. He came straight home. I called the police," Franklin stated.

Watch: Family pleads for help finding Beaver Dam teen at the center of an Amber Alert

Family pleads for help finding Beaver Dam teen at the center of an Amber Alert

Sophia's mother recalled the moment law enforcement sent the Amber Alert.

"That sound goes off on your phone, and when you know what it's for because you've been warned, we just broke down crying. I didn't even look at my phone. I just held my daughter and just cried. It's something I don't wish anyone to ever go through," Franklin explained.

Franklin says they have not heard from Sophia since the alert went out.

"Just come home," Franklin said. "Life's just starting. We're here to help you get through all the ups and downs of it, and there's nothing that detracts from our love for you."

Gary Day photo
Law enforcement provided his photo of 40-year-old Gary Day of Arkansas. Day faces four felony charges in Dodge County.

Before the Amber Alert, authorities say Sophia spent more than four months with Day in Arkansas while her parents believed she had been staying with a friend in town and working.

Franklin says they first learned about Day when police in Arkansas contacted them.

Day was on probation for child abuse at the time.

TMJ4 asked Franklin if she had any misgivings about her daughter's whereabouts.

"No, because we were in communication with her that entire time. She wasn't happy with us because we had tried to keep her safe, and she was really upset with us about that. We were trying to let her cool off," Franklin said. "We were trying to keep communication lines open with her so that she would come home."

Sophia Franklin
Franklin's family shared this picture of the teen who may be wearing glasses.

There is a no-contact order between Day and Sophia.

Sophia was brought home to Wisconsin. Franklin said that things appeared to be getting back on track with Sophia on board.

"I do believe that she was brainwashed. I believe that she was groomed," Franklin stated.

Franklin is grateful for the outpouring of support but anxious to get her daughter back.

She shared a message for Day.

"You need to bring her home. She belongs here. She's our child. She's not a full-grown adult," Franklin pressed.

Gary Day car
Authorities believe Franklin and Day are in a 2014 black Buick LaCrosse. It has been seen with both Arkansas and Pennsylvania license plates.
The Arkansas plate read BBR 20L. The Pennsylvania plate read KGW5186.

Sophia and Day are believed to be traveling in a black Buick LaCrosse with an Arkansas or Pennsylvania license plate.

The family added that Sophia also wears glasses and a rose gold ring with a pink heart-shaped gem on her left hand.

If you have any information on Sophia Franklin's whereabouts, call law enforcement right away.


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