Cryptic twist in ‘Taken’ kidnap case after girl, 14, rescued by dad – as lawyer says ‘there is a lot more to this story’
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ATTORNEYS have revealed there is a twist in the case of a teenage girl allegedly kidnapped in a ‘Taken’ style abduction before being dramatically rescued by her dad from a boat. Speaking outside court, the attorney defending a 65-year-old arrested on kidnapping charges linked to the case said there is “a lot more” that we have not yet heard.
Emmarae Gervasi, 14, mysteriously disappeared after getting into a car outside her home East Patchogue, Suffolk County, Long Island last month. Her Dad, Frank Gervasi, launched his own investigation and after 26 days of frantic searching saved his daughter from a large boat near the White Cap fish Market and Seafood Restaurant in Islip, Long Island.
![[Frank Gervasi, Emma's dad, staged a heroic rescue when he found his daughter on a white boat]](https://www.the-sun.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2025/01/arrest-made-case-missing-teen-962139727_4be9dc.jpg?strip=all&w=493)
An anonymous phone tip allowed Frank to stage the miraculous rescue before even the cops could reach Emmarae. Francis Buckheit, 65, was later arrested and charged with rape, kidnapping and acting in a manner injurous to a child in connection to the shocking case.
![[A larhe white boat has been impounded by cops working on the investigation]](https://www.the-sun.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2025/01/1876445783068975232-mystery-deepens-cryptic-962841645.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
Police have not confirmed how Buckheit is linked to the case and the suspect pleaded not guilty. However, her father Frank says she was sex-trafficked and plied with drugs by “unsavoury characters”. Now, Buckheit’s attorney Danielle Papa has sparked speculation about the chain of events after suggesting to reporters that all is not as it seems.
![[Frank Gervasi believes his 14-year-old daughter was kidnapped and sex trafficked]](https://www.the-sun.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2025/01/arrest-made-case-missing-teen-962161939.jpg?strip=all&w=810)
