County court sets $2M cash bail for man accused of abducting pregnant teen
By Amy Fleury, Hannah Hilyard
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JUNEAU, Wisconsin (WISN) — The man accused of abducting a pregnant Beaver Dam teen and sparking a multi-state Amber Alert made his initial appearance in court Thursday afternoon in Dodge County.
Gary Day, of Arkansas, was extradited to Wisconsin on Wednesday after investigators said he spent the last two months on the run with 16-year-old Sophia Franklin.
Police believe Day and Sophia met online last year. The teen is now pregnant with his child.
According to a newly updated criminal complaint, the 40-year-old showed up to Sophia’s Beaver Dam home on February 3. Those court documents said Sophia told investigators “there was no plan for him to come, he just popped up in her bedroom.” She goes on to say she “grabbed a coat and pillow, and they left.”
Heading west, she told investigators they slept in Day’s black Buick before ditching it near a Culver’s in Arizona. They then allegedly hitchhiked. At times, she said they slept in a tent along a river in Oregon.
“The two of them made intentional acts to avoid law enforcement detection, avoiding surveillance, sleeping on the side of the road,” Dodge County District Attorney Andrea Will said in court Thursday.
Discovered at an Omaha, Nebraska, truck stop earlier this month, Sophia is now home with family, while Day is in jail facing two counts of abduction of a child and two counts of child enticement.
“Of course, these are allegations. Nothing is proven at this time beyond a reasonable doubt,” defense attorney Alyssa George-Stifler said while pushing for a lower cash bond.
The court ended up following the prosecutor’s recommendation, setting the Arkansas man’s bond at $2,000,000.
“The court finds that defendant presents an extreme flight risk and an extreme risk to this victim and other potential victims,” Dodge County Court Commissioner Steven Seim said.
Day is not to have any direct or indirect contact with the victim, her family or her residence. The court commissioner also ordered Day to have no contact with minors.
A preliminary hearing was scheduled for April 24.
The district attorney Thursday did mention the possibility of additional victims of Day being out there. She said that investigation is being handled at the federal level.
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