LONG ISLAND, NY - On Saturday, January 4th, the father of a Long Island teen who had been missing for nearly a month took to Facebook to thank those from his community and police for the tips that led him to his missing daughter.
According to the New York Post, in the video he said, "She is in a facility right now getting the help she needs and is safe. I'd like to thank the community for all of the support that you gave us." The father, Frank Gervasi, said that it was "social media videos and (donated) flyers" that led to an anonymous tip from a woman that helped him find his daughter, 14-year-old Emmarae.
He said, "The phone call I received was that she was on a boat in Islip." He said that he was initially skeptical because the lady who gave him the tip was "afraid to go in the boat." Gervais said that he " busted" onto the boat in a marina near the White Cap Fish Market in Islip on Friday, January 3rd and retrieved his daughter.
When he busted into the boat, he said no one else was on the boat at the time. Gervais said, "Persistency brought her home." He said that he thinks there may be more than one person under investigation, adding that he believes his daughter had been with "some dangerous people."
The father said that his daughter had run away from home at least once before and that she had some "struggles" in her life. He said she is now being cared for in a hospital where she is "detoxing." The father declined to give further details. He said, "The fact that she's safe and alive is amazing. It was so incredible to hold her in my arms after I found her."
Emmarae had vanished on December 9, 2024, after getting into a strange car outside her Patchogue home, leading her family to fear she was being held against her will. She was last seen walking out of her house without a jacket or shoes before getting into the car around 5:00 p.m.
Security cameras captured her knocking on doors at a Bohemia motel the next day, but she disappeared again. Gervasi said his daughter initially went off with a man she met online, but left him before she was then picked up by a "random" 65-year-old man she didn't know.
FOX 5 reported that her court monitored ankle bracelet was found cut off near her home. The father said, "We're out looking for her until two or three o'clock in the morning. Every time the phone rings we think it's information for Emma or a tip, but it never is." He said while the Suffolk County police was doing their own investigation, he spent days desperately searching for his daughter.
Community members came together to help with the search. He said, "I got strangers calling us and saying 'hey where could I drive around and look' and that's amazing because that's how we're gonna find her. We want to hear her voice again. We wanna see her we wanna know that she's OK."
After this incident and successfully finding his daughter, Gervais said he wants to begin helping other families on Long Island who have missing children.
According to the New York Post, in the video he said, "She is in a facility right now getting the help she needs and is safe. I'd like to thank the community for all of the support that you gave us." The father, Frank Gervasi, said that it was "social media videos and (donated) flyers" that led to an anonymous tip from a woman that helped him find his daughter, 14-year-old Emmarae.
He said, "The phone call I received was that she was on a boat in Islip." He said that he was initially skeptical because the lady who gave him the tip was "afraid to go in the boat." Gervais said that he " busted" onto the boat in a marina near the White Cap Fish Market in Islip on Friday, January 3rd and retrieved his daughter.
When he busted into the boat, he said no one else was on the boat at the time. Gervais said, "Persistency brought her home." He said that he thinks there may be more than one person under investigation, adding that he believes his daughter had been with "some dangerous people."
The father said that his daughter had run away from home at least once before and that she had some "struggles" in her life. He said she is now being cared for in a hospital where she is "detoxing." The father declined to give further details. He said, "The fact that she's safe and alive is amazing. It was so incredible to hold her in my arms after I found her."
Emmarae had vanished on December 9, 2024, after getting into a strange car outside her Patchogue home, leading her family to fear she was being held against her will. She was last seen walking out of her house without a jacket or shoes before getting into the car around 5:00 p.m.
Security cameras captured her knocking on doors at a Bohemia motel the next day, but she disappeared again. Gervasi said his daughter initially went off with a man she met online, but left him before she was then picked up by a "random" 65-year-old man she didn't know.
FOX 5 reported that her court monitored ankle bracelet was found cut off near her home. The father said, "We're out looking for her until two or three o'clock in the morning. Every time the phone rings we think it's information for Emma or a tip, but it never is." He said while the Suffolk County police was doing their own investigation, he spent days desperately searching for his daughter.
Community members came together to help with the search. He said, "I got strangers calling us and saying 'hey where could I drive around and look' and that's amazing because that's how we're gonna find her. We want to hear her voice again. We wanna see her we wanna know that she's OK."
After this incident and successfully finding his daughter, Gervais said he wants to begin helping other families on Long Island who have missing children.
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Comments
2025-01-06T18:01-0500 | Comment by: Michael
Congrats to this persistent dad! Glad she was there alone so he could take this confused girl and get her help. The perp(s) should be glad too because from the look of him, he might have skinned them alive!
2025-01-06T18:43-0500 | Comment by: Grey
It's just a random thought, but IMO, the best place for Francis B, (the alleged perp) is in prison where Frank G. isn't able to get within arms reach of him.