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Editor’s note: Sensitive elements of the original version of this story have been removed post-publication at the request of the missing teen’s family.
The 14-year-old Patchogue girl who mysteriously disappeared from her home three weeks ago was last seen on Dec. 10, when surveillance cameras captured video of her knocking on doors at a Bohemia motel near MacArthur Airport, her father told Greater Long Island on Monday.
That was at about 2 a.m., when Emmarae Gervasi was “seen at the [motel] knocking on doors, and then she drifts off into the night,” said her father, Frank.
She had gone missing from her Patchogue home hours earlier — on Dec. 9 about 5 p.m.
“She was seen knocking on doors and then walks out on foot,” he continued. “I don’t know if she was under the influence. I don’t know if she was looking for somebody. We don’t know … She just literally vanishes from there … No cameras have picked her up since then.”
Emmarae’s adolescence has been marked by personal struggles [details removed] … Her family has explained that in the past she has been exploited and manipulated by adults, exacerbating her challenges.
Frank Gervasi confirmed to Greater Long Island that he is working with investigators from Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney’s office and expressed concern over his daughter possibly being held against her will.
“I believe that she’s being held against her will — 100 percent,” Gervasi said, before backtracking slightly and saying, “I mean we don’t know at this point. You know, we don’t know if she just ran away. We don’t know if she’s being held against her will, or hopefully not dead.
“It’s my premonition that she might be (being held against her will). Or if not, then being drugged up enough where she’s too stupid to leave,” he added.
Left her home barefoot on Dec. 9
On Dec. 9, Emmarae reportedly left her Terrell Street home barefoot and without a jacket to retrieve something from a car parked in the driveway, but instead entered a blue Honda that drove away.
Holding on to hope
Gervasi — who posts daily to social media daily to spread the word about his daughter’s disappearance, to solicit tips on her missing persons case, and to provide updates on his own independent search — still holds onto the hope that his daughter will come back safely into his life.
“One, we hope that she’s just gonna, you know, walk through the door, which would be amazing. Two, I hope that I just see her on the street,” he said. “Or three, somebody steps up and lets her go, and brings her home.”
A search party for Emmarae has been organized for Tuesday, New Year’s Eve, in the Mastic-Shirley area.
The search is set to begin at 1 p.m. in front of the Applebee’s on Montauk Highway in Shirley.
Prior coverage
Top photos: Patchogue teen Emmarae Gervasi by a Christmas tree, and an inset photo of her father, Frank. (courtesy photos)
