Man accused of abducting Wisconsin teen ditched vehicle outside Avondale restaurant
AVONDALE, AZ (AZFamily) — A man is accused of abducting and impregnating a Wisconsin teen girl and abandoning his vehicle outside of an Avondale restaurant during the cross-country excursion.
The teen girl told authorities she began speaking with 40-year-old Gary Day in April 2024. A criminal complaint cites the teen telling police that Day picked her up on July 29, 2024, and the two arrived in Arkansas on Aug. 1, 2024. Court documents say the girl told authorities she and Day “planned to get married” and he knew “from the get-go” that she was only 16 years old.
On Dec. 10, 2024, authorities with the Beaver Dam Police Department in Wisconsin were tipped off by Arkansas law enforcement, who found the missing 16-year-old girl as they were investigating Day. The teen was then returned home to Beaver Dam.
However, the teen’s parents found that the two began speaking again in early 2025, and she was reported missing again out of Wisconsin on Feb. 3, 2025. Court documents state Day showed up unexpectedly at her home, and the two left.
The two reportedly drove cross-country, traveling through Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico before stopping in Phoenix. The two reportedly ditched Day’s 2014 black Buick LaCrosse near a Culver’s restaurant in Avondale before hitching a ride to Oregon with truck drivers.
Avondale authorities confirmed they later found the abandoned vehicle.
While the two were traveling across the country, they had no phones or electronic devices. Day allegedly destroyed his SIM card when he left Arkansas, and she threw his phone into an unknown river.
After two months of traveling, the teen and Day were located on April 2, 2025, her 17th birthday, at a rest stop in Nebraska. The teen reportedly told police the two intended to travel to the East Coast.
Day is facing charges of child abduction and child enticement.
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