Lisa McVey Was Kidnapped by a Serial Killer When She Was Only 17 — Where Is She Now?

"I'm a survivor and a warrior," Lisa McVey (now Lisa McVey Noland) told FOX 13 in 2019. "There's no victim here."

Lisa was abducted by Bobby Joe Long in 1984 when she was 17 years old. She is thought to be the only person to survive the harrowing encounter with the notorious serial killer who kidnapped, raped, and murdered at least 10 women before his execution in May 2019. Having convinced Long to let her go, she turned to the police for help. So, where is Lisa now?

Lisa was kidnapped by Long on Nov. 3, 1984. In the course of 26 hours, she was raped by Long several times and subjected to severe psychological abuse. She successfully escaped. But so, where is Lisa now?

Lisa got married to a police officer and gave birth to a daughter less than two years after the atrocity. Then, Lisa joined the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office in the early 2000s. She now specializes in sex crimes and also serves as a school resource deputy. She works as a motivational speaker as well.

"[I'm a] protector," Lisa told FOX 13. "No one's going to get hurt on my watch."

As Lisa told the outlet, she wanted to join the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office partly because she didn't want to see herself as a victim. In addition to her harrowing experience with Long, Lisa was sexually abused by her grandmother's boyfriend as a child. By the time she was kidnapped by Long, she was already experiencing suicidal ideation.

But the horrors she had to suffer at a young age ultimately helped her save herself.

"I had to take all of the abuse I had incurred as a child, and just reach down one more time, into the pit of my stomach, and tap into those survivor skills in order to overcome him psychologically," Lisa told The Sun.

As Lisa told ABC Action News, she managed to turn things around by offering to become Long's girlfriend.

"He had mentioned that he had raped other women," Lisa added. "I said, 'Why are you doing this to me?' He goes, 'Just to get back at women in general.' I said, 'I'll be your girlfriend.'"

Lisa maintained an incredibly head-strong approach during the time she was forced to spend with Long. She counted the steps leading up to Long's apartment, used her hands to feel out the shape of his face and figure for identification purposes, and covered his bathroom with her fingerprints, per The Sun. She also told Long that she was the sole carer of her severely ill dad.

And her story was convincing enough. In the end, Long agreed to drop her off at a remote spot near the corner of Hillsborough and North Rome Avenue in Tampa, Fla. Lisa reported him shortly afterward.

Long was arrested on Nov 16, 1984. He was executed on May 23, 2019, at the Florida State Prison.

Believe Me: The Abduction of Lisa McVey was inspired by Lisa's horrifying life experiences. The movie first premiered on Lifetime in 2018 before becoming available on Netflix in June 2021.

If you need support, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 or visit RAINN.org to chat online one-on-one with a support specialist at any time.