A HERO dad saved his teen daughter from a Taken-style plot after she was allegedly kidnapped and found alive on a boat after “26 days of hell”.
A 14-year-old girl named Emmarae Gervasi disappeared after getting into a car outside her house, and a 65-year-old man has been arrested and accused of rape in relation to this alarming incident.
Francis Buckheit is facing charges of kidnapping and endangering a child in connection to the disappearance of the teenager, which occurred in Long Island, New York.
The suspect entered a not guilty plea on Monday but her father said he believed Emmarae was a victim of sex trafficking.
The family experienced a horrifying ordeal when their daughter went outside to retrieve items from a Jeep parked at their residence in East Patchogue, Suffolk County. She left without wearing a coat or shoes.
Emmarae was caught on security footage less than 24 hours after her shock disappearance knocking on doors and helplessly wandering around Bohemia, less than 10 miles from where her dad, Frank Gervasi, would later save her.
The brave father revealed he was following up on his own leads and worked closely with the local Suffolk County Police Department.
“I fear that she is being held against her will,” he said at that time.
“I know she is with somebody and they are either convincing her to stay or won’t let her leave or worse she may be dead by now.”
She was miraculously saved from a large boat near the White Cap Fish Market and Seafood Restaurant in Islip, Long Island, on Friday afternoon after her dad received an anonymous phone tip.
“The lady who gave me the tip was afraid to go in the boat,” he said.
Hero Frank confirmed he arrived at the crime scene before the police, in a real-life Taken movie-style hunt , according to News 12.
In the blockbuster Hollywood movie, an American father tracks down and saves his daughter after she was kidnapped by criminals while on vacation in Paris.
“It was 26 days of hell seeing her alive in my arms,” Frank said.
“It was a gift from God. I can’t describe the feeling I had when I grabbed her.”
Emmarae was rushed to hospital to recover after the horror ordeal and the case remains an active investigation.
Frank also explained, in a video, why he believed his 14-year-old had been sex trafficked during her 26 day disappearance.
“Emma was being held against her will,” Frank said.
“She was not allowed to leave the boat unless she was escorted by somebody, and she was being forced to do things that a 14-year-old girl shouldn’t have to do.
“So I do believe this is sex-trafficking, and it’s being looked into.”
Frank also said he thought his daughter had initially gotten into the car with some she knew but claimed Emmarae was later taken by a “random” 65-year-old man, according to the New York Post.
He also told The Post that the teenager had previously run away from home and experienced some “struggles” in her life.
Emmarae’s mom Melissa Dervay shared the overwhelming emotions she felt when her daughter was found.
“The moment I heard her voice and knew she was OK, I felt a weight lifted off my body,” she told Greater Long Island.
“I’ve been so tense for the past four weeks, quietly fighting a battle. Now, I’m elated.”
The Suffolk County Police Department has since impounded a boat from a Long Island dock as evidence.
