# @newsday on Instagram

- **Type:** Video
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DPlusInDkKx
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/38325710-newsday-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/a453dc4471.jpg
- **Posted:** 2025-10-09T13:08:12.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Newsday • Long Island News (@newsday) — https://gondola.cc/newsday

## Caption

Seven months before a 14-year-old Long Island girl went missing for 25 days, before her dramatic rescue from a yacht, her family became so desperate to address her drug addiction and sexual abuse that they sent her to a treatment facility 1,300 miles away in Minnesota.

The girl’s family had exhausted all other local options, partly because she needed specialized treatment that wasn’t available on Long Island, her stepgrandmother said.

The stepgrandmother estimates she called nearly 200 places across the country. Finally, the family settled on Newport Academy in St. Cloud, Minnesota, a small city about an hour north of Minneapolis.

Surrounded by a 12-foot fence, Newport Academy, a residential treatment center for teens, appeared secure. It offered an array of therapies and accepted her father Frank Gervasi’s insurance. Best of all, it was “in the middle of nowhere,” away from bad influences back home, she said.

At least, that is what she thought.

Four days after the 14-year-old girl checked into Newport, she was gone again. This time, in early May 2024, she was in an unfamiliar Midwestern town. Within days, at least four men capitalized on her vulnerabilities, according to court records.

Her case highlights the struggles families face in trying to get help for victimized teens.

Read more on her time in Minnesota and the ongoing case at the link in bio.
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#longisland #longislandny #liny #longislandnewyork #suffolkcountyny #suffolkcounty #patchogue #patchogueny #minnesota #stcloud #stcloudmn #missing #yacht #reelsig #linkinbio

## Stats

- **Views:** 10,111
- **Likes:** 242
- **Shares:** 0
- **Comments:** 24

## Credits

| Name | Username | Profile | Role |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Vinnie Matula | @vinmatula | https://gondola.cc/vinmatula | Social Media Manager |
| Newsday • Long Island News | @newsday | https://gondola.cc/newsday | Reporter/Journalist |

## Tags

longisland, yacht, longislandnewyork, stcloudmn, minnesota, patchogueny, stcloud, liny, missing, reelsig, suffolkcountyny, patchogue, suffolkcounty, longislandny, linkinbio

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