A Long Island father spent 26 days refusing to stop looking for his missing 14-year-old daughter, then forced his way onto a docked 56-foot yacht in Islip and found her alive before police arrived, helping trigger a sprawling investigation that produced dozens of arrests tied to alleged child sex trafficking, rape, and drug-fueled exploitation.
Frank Gervasi, of Patchogue, last saw Emmarae Gervasi around 5 p.m. on December 9, 2024. She had asked about dinner, then stepped outside their East Patchogue home barefoot and without a coat in the cold and got into a dark vehicle. The next day, surveillance captured her knocking on doors at a Bohemia motel before she vanished again. Her court-ordered ankle monitor had been cut off. Gervasi immediately began driving the area day and night, posting emotional daily videos on social media, offering a reward reported between $10,000 and $15,000, and coordinating with community searchers while Suffolk County police ran their own efforts.
On the morning of January 3, 2025, he received a tip that she was on a boat at White Cap Marina near the White Cap Fish Market in Islip, roughly 13 miles from home. The tip later traced in court records to Jacquelyn Comiskey, who was seeking the reward. Gervasi drove there without waiting for officers. He forced entry onto the yacht named The Phoenix, owned by Francis Buckheit of East Islip, and found his daughter alone. He described her as strung out but coherent and said she had not been allowed to leave the boat without an escort. He later called the moment the end of “26 days of hell” and “a gift from God.” Police arrived minutes later; she was taken to a hospital.
Prosecutors allege the 25- to 26-day period involved multiple locations and adults across Suffolk County. Alton Harrell, around 35, is accused of picking her up after she left home—having known her age—and holding her in an abandoned house in Bellport. Others allegedly moved her through a car, a mobile home, and even a detached garbage container before she reached the yacht around December 13. On the boat, court documents claim she was kept behind netting out of sight. Within hours of arrival, nude photographs were allegedly taken and sent to men. Prosecutors say she was repeatedly raped, given crack cocaine and other drugs, and marketed for sex in exchange for cash or narcotics. Buckheit is accused of planning to take her south to the Carolinas. Two women, Elizabeth Hunter and Jacquelyn Comiskey, face child sex trafficking charges; Comiskey is alleged to have transported the teen to another man’s home for crack the day before the rescue.
An 83-count indictment charged multiple defendants with kidnapping, child sex trafficking, rape, and endangering the welfare of a child. Francis Buckheit was among the first arrested, charged with rape, kidnapping, and child endangerment, and held without bail while pleading not guilty. Others named in early reporting included Daniel Burke, Robert Eccleston, Bunice Knight, Kevin McDonald, Ralph Knowles, and more. Newsday’s investigation later reported that 23 people across New York and Minnesota faced charges connected to the victim. Three men faced potential life sentences on first-degree kidnapping counts. Most defendants pleaded not guilty. Defense lawyers have argued the situation was more complex, pointed to statements from the teen, and in some cases claimed she was not held against her will or presented herself as older. Buckheit’s attorneys have sought to dismiss charges or suppress evidence.
The case drew national attention for the father’s unilateral action, frequently compared to the movie Taken. Gervasi publicly stated he believed his daughter had been sex-trafficked and forced to do things no 14-year-old should face. Background reporting noted prior disappearances, substance issues, an ankle monitor, and family custody arrangements between divorced parents. Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney described the scale as unusual but consistent with a broader local pattern of drug-driven exploitation rather than a classic organized ring. Newsday’s “Unprotected” series used the case to examine systemic gaps, including hotels and motels used for trafficking and the challenges of protecting confirmed victims.
The story did not end with the rescue. After a Family Court judge placed the teen in state facilities—Sagamore Children’s Psychiatric Center then Brentwood Residential Center—for treatment, Gervasi filed a federal lawsuit in April 2026 seeking more than $10 million against New York State, Suffolk County, and others. He alleges staff sexually assaulted her at both locations between January and March 2025 despite assurances of safety. Criminal charges followed against at least some employees, including Deshaun McClean. The civil case remained active into late 2026.
The original rescue narrative continues to circulate widely on social media, often under headlines highlighting the 26-day search and the solo yacht entry. Court proceedings on the criminal charges have continued, with motions still pending in several cases. The episode remains one of the more stark recent examples of a parent’s persistence intersecting with allegations of child exploitation that stretched across ordinary suburban locations before landing on a docked boat in a public marina.
