Where is Lisa McVey today?
On November 3, 1984, Lisa McVey Noland, 17, was abducted by serial killer Bobby Joe Long as she cycled home from work. She was held for 26 hours by Long in his Tampa, Florida flat, where she was blindfolded and raped repeatedly.
McVey, who is now 54-years-old, survived the traumatic ordeal and tells of her experience to help other victims of sex crimes.
In 2006 McVey published a book about her experience, titled Smoldering Embers, which later served as the foundation of the 2018 television film Believe Me: The Abduction of Lisa McVey.
In 1999 McVey joined the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office in Florida—the same department that found and arrested her abductor—and later became the sheriff’s deputy specialising in sex crimes and working to protect children.
She also has a family of her own including a grown daughter and granddaughter. She remains good friends with Detective Larry Pinkerton, the first person in a position of power who believed her story.
Using reverse psychology during her capture, McVey was able to form a bond with Long which may have secured her freedom.
Speaking to ABC Action News in 2019, McVey recalled: “I said ‘why are you doing this to me,’ and he goes ‘because just to get back at women in general.’ I said, ‘I’ll be your girlfriend. I’ll do whatever you want. It’s unfortunate how we met we don’t have to tell anyone how we met; let’s do this.’”
As survival mode kicked in, McVey began taking mental notes of everything she possibly could in the apartment—from counting the number of stairs to the front door to the shape and texture of Long’s face when she touched it.
McVey also made sure she left traces of her DNA throughout Long’s apartment and car, in the hope her abductor could be caught. After the prolonged assault, Long took a bound and blindfolded McVey to a forest where he set her free.
McVey made her way to her grandmother’s home, who alerted the police of her safe return. McVey attempted to tell police and her family of her ordeal. All were quick to dismiss her claims, except one detective—Sergeant Larry Pinkerton, who specialised in sex crimes.
After initial interviews and a forensic scan of McVey’s clothes found fibers that matched those found on nine murdered women in the area, her case was believed to be related and a task force was formed the next day.
Her captor, Bobby Joe Long, was arrested on November 15, 1984, after McVey was able to confirm Long’s identity from a photograph. Her DNA was found in his apartment and car.
Following Long’s arrest, McVey, aged 18, went to live with her aunt and uncle for several years.
McVey is the only living survivor of serial killer Bobby Joe Long, who is believed to have killed at least 10 women and raped over 50 in the Tampa Bay area in the early 1980s.
His known victims were Artiss Ann Wick, 20, Nguen Thi Long, 19, Michelle Denise Simms, 22, Elizabeth Loudenback, 22, Vicky Marie Elliot, 21, Chanel Devounn Williams, 18, Karen Beth Dinsfriend, 28, Kimberly Kyle Hopps, 22, Virginia Lee Johnson, 18 and 21-year-old Kim Marie Swann.
Long confessed in 1985 to his crimes and was sentenced to death. He was executed on May 23, 2019 in Florida State Prison. He was 65 years old at the time of his death.
Believe Me: The Abduction of Lisa McVey is streaming on Netflix now.
