Authorities in Suffolk County, NY, expands suspects arrested in the month-long disappearance of 14-year-old Gervasi disappearance to seven

Jacquelyn Comiskey, 52, and Elizabeth Hunter, 34, both from Long Island, are charged with sex trafficking and endangering the welfare of a child

Five men arrested in the case, Alton Harrell, 63, Daniel Burke, 63, and Robert Eccleston, 63, Bunice Knight, 47, and Francis Buckheit, 65, all face kidnap and rape related charges

Comiskey allegedly transported Gervasi to Bunice Knight’s Copiague home on Jan. 2, a day before the teen was found on Buckheit’s boat, in exchange for crack cocaine

Elizabeth Hunter is facing an additional charge for promoting an obscene sex performance by a child under 17

Jacquelyn Comiskey, [left], and Elizabeth Hunter, [right], both of Long Island, NY have beencharged with sex trafficking in the disappearance of Emmarae Gervasi, 14, in December

Two Long Island women were arrested for their roles in the month-long disappearance of 14-year-old Emmarae Gervasi, increasing the number of suspects in the case so far, to seven.
Gervasi went missing from her Patchogue home around 5 p.m. on Dec. 9, 2024. She was last seen walking out of her house without her jacket or shoes and getting into a black car. The car allegedly, was driven by Francis Buckheit
Surveillance cameras captured her the next day knocking on doors at a motel in Bohemia, in the south shore of Long Island, only for the teen to disappear again.
Suffolk County police on Monday charged Jacquelyn Comiskey, 52, and Elizabeth Hunter, 34, both from Long Island, with sex trafficking and endangering the welfare of a child on Monday, according to court records.

14-year-old Emmarae Gervasi [photo], went missing from her Patchogue home on Dec. 9, 2024, when she jumped into a car allegedly driven by Francis Buckheit. She was found a month later

Comiskey who claims to be a loving grandmother on her Instagram page, allegedly transported Gervasi to Bunice Knight’s Copiague home on January 2, a day before the teen was found on a boat, in exchange for crack cocaine..
Elizabeth Hunter’s alleged connection to the case stems from an incident on Dec. 13. The two women appeared on Tuesday at Suffolk County First District Court in Central Islip, where they pled not guilty to the charges. A judge set both their bails at $750,000.
Hunter is facing an additional charge for promoting an obscene sex performance by a child under 17. She pleaded not guilty.
She also faces an unrelated petit larceny case from Aug. 9, 2024, in which she entered a not-guilty plea.

Emmarae Gervasi, [photo], was missing for 25 days- from early December to the first week of January. Seven people, including two women from Long Island, have been have been hit sex trafficking charges in her disappearance

A court-ordered ankle monitor the teen was wearing was found cut off a block away from the home.
Security cameras captured her knocking on doors at a Bohemia motel the next day, but she disappeared again.
The teen was found aboard a 56-foot boat owned by Buckheit and docked at a marina in Islip on Jan. 3.
Her father, Frank Gervasi, acting on an anonymous tip, busted onto the boat and rescued his daughter.
After finding his daughter, Gervasi claimed she was a victim of sex trafficking.
Francis Buckheit, the man who allegedly picked the minor from her home on December 9, was arrested on January 3, when he drove up to the dock drunk.
He was charged with kidnapping, rape and endangering the welfare of a child.
Ten days later, Bunice Knight was arrested and charged with rape and endangering the welfare of a child.

A month after she disappeared, Emmarae Gervasi was found on the “Phoenix.” A boat owned by 64-year-old Francis Buckheit moored in the Islip marina on Jan. 3, 2025.

The teen’s dad, Frank Gervasi, [right], believes his daughter was a victim of sex trafficking

Frank Gervasi reacted to the news of Knight’s arrest in a Facebook post.
“What happens in the dark will come to the light as I said over and over again.”
Three other men have also been charged in the case.
The teen was held in numerous locations by five suspects during her disappearance,
The men arrested in the case, Alton Harrell, 63, Daniel Burke, 63, and Robert Eccleston, 63, Bunice Knight, 47, and 64-year-old Francis Buckheit, all face kidnap and rape related charges.
Harrell was connected to the case with an incident that occurred on Dec. 9, while Burke and Eccleston are suspected of crimes committed on Dec. 10. Burke prosecutors allege he kept the teen at his home and had sexual contact with her, is charged with first-degree kidnapping, second-degree rape and child endangerment.
Eccleston who is accused of sexually assaulting the girl twice in a detached garage behind his home, is charged second-degree kidnapping, second-degree rape and child endangerment. The charges against both men are based on statements they made to police and a seven-page sworn statement provided by the teen on the day she was found.
Facing life imprisonment, Burke was remanded to Suffolk County Jail without bail, while bail for Eccleston was set at $500,000 cash or $1 million bond.
Bunice Knight is charged with sexually assaulting the teen at his home, is charged with rape, among other charges.

52-year-old grandma, Jacquelyn Comiskey [photo], allegedly transported Gervasi to Bunice Knight’s Copiague home on January 2, a day before the teen was found on Buckheit’s boat, in exchange for crack cocaine.

Comiskey allegedly transported Gervasi to Bunice Knight’s Copiague home on January 2, a day before the teen was found on a boat, in exchange for crack cocaine.
Over the month she was missing, her father, Frank Gervasi himself spearheaded an intense search. He was on social media pleading for help, driving around Long Island in search of leads to help in his daughter’s recovery himself.
In a post-recovery interview, the teen’s relieved mom, Melissa Dervay said a weight was “lifted off my body” when the search ended in the recovery of her daughter.
“The moment I heard her voice and knew she was OK, I felt a weight lifted off my body,” Dervay told Greater Long Island. “I’ve been so tense for the past four weeks, quietly fighting a battle. Now, I’m elated. I feel light, and I just want to scream, ‘She’s OK. She’s been found.’”
They were all charged with kidnapping, rape and endangering the welfare of a child.
All seven defendants have pleaded not guilty to their charges related to the case.