It has all the hallmarks of a Liam Neeson action movie.
An innocent teenage daughter disappears into thin air. A vengeful father, frustrated with the police, who takes matters into his own hands.
And a Hollywood ending that every parent dreams of: the daughter was found alive, traumatized but safe, hidden in a small boat in an icy marina on Long Island.
Now Frank Gervasi tells DailyMail.com about the moment he was reunited with his 14-year-old daughter Emmarae, almost a month after she disappeared from their home.
Emmarae disappeared into the rain barefoot and without a mobile phone after taking something from her father’s car.
It had been a normal school night. Before she went out, Emmarae had asked her father what he was making for dinner.
What followed was a painful month for Frank and his wife, who immediately knew something was wrong.
Surveillance video from the night Emmarae went missing captured her being taken into a dark car and disappearing into the night. A day later, she was seen knocking on the door of a motel before disappearing a second time.
Emmarae has been missing since December 9 and disappeared without a coat or shoes
Frank Gervasi, Emmarae’s father, took matters into his own hands to find her
The case was initially not treated seriously by the police. Emmarae, who had previously run away, had been in trouble with the police herself.
It wasn’t until Jan. 3 that Frank received an anonymous tip that his daughter was on a boat at Whitecap Marina, near a fish market just 13 miles from his home.
Gervasi shared the tip with police and then promptly jumped into his pickup truck and headed to the shipyard to rescue his daughter.
‘I didn’t want to wait for the police because I didn’t want to lose my daughter. I stormed onto the boat…kicked in the door…and she was there.”
“The information I received was very specific and very accurate,” Gervasi told Daily Mail.com. ‘They told my daughter was with very dangerous men who may still be on the boat.’
He shared the harrowing ordeal that entailedthere were rumors that they would soon move the boat south.”
‘She could have easily left the state, and no one would have been able to trace the country through the waterway,” he said.
An emotional Gervasi said it was “pure elation… joy, happiness” after 26 painful days in hell, not knowing whether she was dead or alive.
In the photo: the ship in which Buckheit held Emmarae captive
In the photo: suspected kidnapper Francis Buckhiet
‘We had clarity for five minutes before the police arrived. I was able to hug her, kiss her and talk to her, and that’s pretty much how it went.”
Much is still unknown about what exactly happened to her.
Police arrested Francis Buckhiet, 64, at the scene on kidnapping charges. He remembered his daughter asking her, “Daddy, how did you find me?” How did you know I was here?’
He said if Buckheit was on the boat when he got there, he said “this would be a very different situation.”
According to a criminal complaint, Buckheit, 64, of East Islip, kidnapped Emmarae and kept her on his boat.
He is now charged with, among other things, first-degree kidnapping and endangering the welfare of a child.
Emmarae is held by her father, Frank, in a photo from when she was younger
Pictured: Liam Neeson in his starring role in the hit 2008 film Taken
Emmarae Gervasi, 14, disappeared without a trace from her home in East Patchogue on Long Island on December 9. She was found Friday in a boat in Islip, Long Island
Pictured: Police investigating Whitecap Marina
Buckheit denies the accusations. He pleaded not guilty during a court hearing this week.
The indictment – although sealed – will be unsealed during next week’s arraignment on the latest charges.
Although Gervasi couldn’t share too much due to the investigation, he told DailyMail.com that Buckheit is not the only one involved.
“I know she’s safe, and I know she’s recovering. For me that is inner peace.’
The case is being handled by Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney and will be presented to a grand jury.