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A Tampa, Florida, police officer who miraculously escaped the clutches of a serial killer as a teenage girl and helped authorities nab her attacker is now on track to become a detective, exactly 40 years after her unimaginable tale of survival.
Master Deputy Lisa McVey of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office spoke to Fox News Digital about her harrowing experience as a young girl and how it led her to pursue detective work, dedicating her life to justice and making sure victims are heard.
“This is my calling,” McVey told Fox News Digital.
At 17 years old, McVey was riding her bicycle home in the early morning hours from her double shift at a local Krispy Kreme in Tampa when she was snatched off her moving bike and abducted by serial killer Bobby Joe Long on Nov. 3, 1984. For 26 hours, McVey endured severe abuse and torture, as Long brutally raped her repeatedly. Believing she was going to die, she left trails of DNA evidence in Long’s red Dodge Magnum and apartment to make sure there was proof of what happened — including fingerprints and a barrette with a lock of hair.
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The young teenager, who had endured a traumatic upbringing, already knew what it meant to survive, and she continued to stay one step ahead of her kidnapper mentally.
“I’m 17 years old and in the fight for my life,” McVey, now 57, said.
Finally, she outsmarted her attacker and convinced him to let her go, using a fabricated story about having a sick father who needed her care.
The evidence she left behind, along with her extraordinarily detailed memory of her kidnapping, like the number of steps up to her attacker’s apartment, helped authorities track down and capture Long.
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“I think that’s what motivates me to want to be a detective,” McVey told Fox News Digital. “They were looking for a notorious serial killer for eight months. Here comes a 17-year-old… my evidence and my quick thinking and my retaining, remembering every little detail not only saved my life, but countless lives, right? So in two weeks, we catch him… I worked with the police.”
McVey is on the eligibility list to become a detective, and she took part in a 30-day detective career development program.
“I did get to work in the Criminal Investigation Division with sexual assault victims, drownings, battery, missing, exploited children,” McVey said. “I was very honored to be a detective for 30 days. I’m just honored to know that I can do that job.”
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Long confessed to killing 10 women in the Tampa area. He was ultimately executed by the state of Florida for his crimes in 2019, 30 years after his capture, and McVey sat in the front row as a witness.
“Bobby Joe Long, thank you,” McVey said in a statement after his execution. “Thank you for choosing me instead of another 17-year-old little girl. The reason why I say thank you now is I have forgiven you for what you have done to me. Had I not forgiven you, I might as well be in my own prison without walls.”
McVey’s 1984 abduction, her unbelievable escape and her work as a Master Deputy are featured in the Fox Nation three-part series “Surviving a Serial Killer” with Harris Faulkner.
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McVey has recently changed her name to Lisa Mae, in honor of someone who took care of her after her escape from death.
“My uncle passed away two years ago, and in honor of him, I wanted to take his last name because my aunt and my uncle are the only ones that came and rescued me when I was 17 to give me a home,” she shared.
On the anniversary of her abduction and survival, Master Deputy Lisa Mae looks back with strength and hope for the future.
“I’m excited to explore and live another 40 years to the fullest…to live in freedom,” she said. “My freedom was granted, you know, 40 years ago.”
