Major update in kidnapping of girl, 14, who endured ’26 days of hell’ locked in boat before hero dad’s rescue

A second suspect has been arrested in connection to the kidnapping of a 14-year-old Long Island girl who was allegedly kept locked inside a boat before her hero dad rescued her.

Bunice Knight, 47, of Copiague has been charged with endangering the welfare of a child among other alleged crimes, court records obtained by Newsday revealed.

Knight’s arrest comes more than a week after 64-year-old Francis Buckheit of East Islip was taken into custody after allegedly kidnapping Emmarae Gervasi, 14.

Buckheit was charged on January 6 with first degree kidnapping and endangering the welfare of a child, among other offenses.

Knight’s arrest was based on the victim’s statements and security video from the neighboring homes.

Both men have pleaded not guilty. Knight’s attorney, Glenn Obedin, told NBC New York they ‘look forward to rigorously defending this case.’

Danielle Papa, Buckheit’s attorney, said at Suffolk County District Court last week that her client is ’emotional… he’s upset…he maintains his innocence.’

Papa added: ‘there’s a lot more to this story than what’s been presented in the papers at this time, which we are in the process of investigating.’

While Buckheit remains behind bars, Knight posted bond that was set at $50,000 cash bail or $100,000 bond, as per court records, Newsday reported.

It remains unclear if Knight and Buckheit know each other.

Knight previously spent five years in federal prison after pleading guilty to narcotics trafficking charges in 2004, as per the news outlet. 

Frank Gervasi miraculously rescued his daughter, Emmarae, on January 3 after getting an anonymous tip.

Emmarae was allegedly being held captive on a boat docked at the Whitecap Marina in Islip, nearly a month after she mysteriously disappeared from their East Patchogue home on December 9.

Gervasi told the DailyMail.com how agonizing it was searching for his daughter – – who was barefoot, wearing no jacket and without a cell phone at the time of her disappearance – having no idea if she was dead or alive. 

While police worked the case, he pursued his own leads.

‘I didn’t want to wait for the police because I didn’t want to lose my daughter. I  busted onto the boat…kicked the door in… and she was there.’ 

‘The information I was given was very specific and very accurate,’ Gervasi told the DailyMail.com. ‘They told my daughter was with very dangerous men who could possibly still be on the boat.’

The day of the rescue was like a scene out of the Liam Neeson action film Taken. He recalled his daughter asking her, ‘Dad, how did you find me? How did you know I was here?’

Though much remains unknown about exactly what happened when Gervasi was reunited with his daughter, he shared that ‘there were rumors that they were going to move the boat down south soon.’

‘They could have left the state easily, and no one would have been able to trace it through the waterway,’ he said.

An emotional Gervasi told the DailyMail.com that the moment he rescued her was ‘pure elation… joy, happiness’ after 26 agonizing days of hell.

‘We had five minutes of clarity before the police showed up. I was able to hug and kiss her and talk to her, and that’s pretty much how it went.’

When DailyMail.com reached out to Gervasi about Knight’s arrest, he was unavailable at the time of publication, but wrote on his Facebook that ‘what happens in the dark will come to the light as I said over and over again.’

More details are expected to be announced once the indictments are unsealed.

DailyMail.com reached out to Knight’s attorney Glenn Obedin for comment.