How Did 17-Year-Old Lisa McVey Escape Her Serial Killer? Abduction Details

Lisa McVey was only 17 years old when she was abducted after working a double shift at a Tampa, Florida, donut shop in November 1984. At around 2 in the morning, the teenager took her usual route home, which was a “very dark” stretch of road with tall oak trees growing on each side, and was snatched off her bicycle by a van-like vehicle.

After 26 hours of horror, Lisa convinced her captor, Bobby Joe Long, to let her go and was able to escape him. Long was a serial killer who murdered at least 10 women in the area.

How Did Lisa McVey Escape a Serial Killer?

After being abducted in the early morning, Long told Lisa to undress as he blindfolded her and tied her ankles and wrists. While in the vehicle, Lisa tried to gather as much information about her captor as he forced her to perform oral sex on him. Through her blindfold, she was able to make out the words “Magnum,” which would later be helpful when identifying her captor's car and could sense the changes in velocity when the vehicle reached the interstate.

“From that point on, I said whatever I see, smell, or touch, I’ve got to remember it,” Lisa later told the Independent in a September 2023 interview. “I’ve got to keep it in my memory bank, so that if I get out of this, I can go to the cops and give them everything I’ve got in terms of evidence.”

Upon arrival at their destination, Lisa was also determined to leave evidence in Long’s car and left her used tampon inside the vehicle. After entering a building, Long raped Lisa multiple times and beat her after becoming “enraged” that she was on her period.

Lisa continued to collect details about her captor, along with touching every surface she could to leave her fingerprints behind. It wasn’t until the next morning that Lisa tried to use “reverse psychology” to try and outsmart her captor.

“I was like, ‘Listen, you seem like a nice guy, after everything I’ve been through,’” she told the outlet, attempting to humanize herself to the attacker. “We can be together. I could be your girlfriend. No one has to know how we met.”

Long finally told her he couldn’t keep her but asked where she lived to drop her off. Before they parted ways, Long stopped at a bank where Lisa was able to get a better look at him.

The ordeal lasted 26 hours before Lisa was finally released by her captor. After returning home, Lisa contacted the police and was able to connect Long to multiple other murders in the area with the small details she remembered.

Is Serial Killer Bobby Joe Long Still Alive?

Bobby Joe Long was executed in 2019. After Lisa was able to identify him as her captor, he confessed to his crimes against her and 10 murders were eventually attributed to him, as well as many rapes. Long received 28 life sentences and the death penalty for his crimes.

Lisa is set to tell her story to FOX News Channel’s Harris Faulkner in Surviving a Serial Killer, a three-part series set to debut on FOX on April 30, 2024.

If you or anyone you know has been sexually abused, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). A trained staff member will provide confidential, judgment-free support as well as local resources to assist in healing, recovering and more.