Parents of missing teen feared taken by 40-year-old man who got her pregnant call it ‘a torment’
The parents of Sophia Franklin, a Wisconsin teen believed to have been abducted by a man who got her pregnant, have opened up about the pain of not hearing from her in more than a week.
“We don’t know what to do other than wait and pray. It’s a torment,” parents Stephen and Leah Franklin wrote on a private Facebook account, according to The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
“Her absence is felt every moment.”
Authorities believe Franklin, 16, is with Gary Day, 40, the father of her unborn child despite living more than 700 miles away in Arkansas, according to an Amber Alert issued on Feb. 3 that remains in effect.
Day was charged last week with two counts of abduction of a child and two counts of child enticement. While he does not face charges for getting the teen pregnant, because the age of consent in Arkansas is 16, he has a history of harming children and is on probation for endangering a child, the outlet reported.
“There is so much on the horizon for you, Sophia. Hard things, yes, but GOOD things too,” her parents said in their statement on Facebook. “And your family is here for all of it.
“We aren’t going anywhere − we just need you to come back.”
The teen’s parents urged others to alert law enforcement to any information they may have that could help bring their daughter home.
“Your value isn’t found in how much money you make, how hard you work, or even the affirmation of others,” her parents wrote. “Sophia, you are a soul made by God and fully known by God and entirely loved by God. You are a gift to us.”
Day is thought to have driven some 700 miles from his home in Cabot, Arkansas to snatch the teen from her family’s Wisconsin home, according to police.
The teen — who is three months pregnant — somehow secretly stayed with Day at his home for the last six months of last year while her family thought she was with a friend close to them in Beaver Dam.
Franklin was found in December by officers conducting a probation check on Day who noticed someone running out the back door, officials said.
After Franklin was brought back home, Day began bombarding the teen with messages, starting on Jan. 26 threatening to harm himself because they were apart, according to the Journal Sentinel.
Franklin went missing again last week after a man appearing to be Day was spotted on a doorbell camera near her family’s home, officials said.
Police described Franklin as a white female, 5 feet, 9 inches tall, and weighing about 186 pounds. She also has brown hair and blue eyes.
Franklin and Day are likely traveling in a 2014 black Buick LaCrosse, though police stressed that they were switching out license plates.
Anyone with information is asked to call 888-304-3936 or 911.
