Where Is Lisa McVey, The Only Survivor Of Serial Killer Bobby Joe Long, Now?

A 2018 Lifetime movie has become a Netflix hit overseas, introducing a new audience to the harrowing ordeal Lisa McVey experienced as the sole survivor of a serial killer.

“Believe Me: The Abduction of Lisa McVey” hit Netflix worldwide on Friday, sparking outrage about the case and sympathy for McVey across the world. The Boy Genius Report points out that the events of the movie, a dramatized account of the real-life rape and kidnapping of 17-year-old McVey in 1984, is difficult for many to watch. 

However, people are certainly paying attention. Within a few days of its release on the platform, it peaked at #1 spot for Netflix in the United Kingdom. The movie stars Katie Douglas as McVey and Rossif Sutherland as serial rapist and killer Bobby Joe Long, one of Florida’s most prolific serial murderers.

Long’s rape and murder spree, which were explored in Oxygen's "Mark of a Killer," were so horrific that signing his 2019 death warrant was one of the first duties carried out by newly elected Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. He was executed that year for the murder of 10 women in 1984. McVey, the only one of Long's victims to survive, was present for his execution.

He strangled, bludgeoned and sometimes slit the throats of his victims before posing their corpses.

Long abducted McVey as she was cycling home from work in 1984 and held her captive for 26 hours, according to Newsweek. While she was being held against her will and sexually assaulted, the brave teen took mental notes of the situation and intentionally left traces of her DNA in his home.

"I left my fingerprints everywhere," McVey, who now goes by Lisa McVey Noland, said in Oxygen's "Mark of a Killer." "On the glass, the hairdryer, the curtains, I wanted people to know that I was there."

She also developed a rapport with the killer as a means of survival.

"I had to learn who he was, what made him tick. If I did the wrong move, could it end my life?" she told the Associated Press in 2019.

She indeed was able to figure out what made Long tick. She told local station ABC Action News in 2019 that she got the killer to open up to her and admit he was killing "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,'" she said.

Her quick thinking saved her life. Long set her free and even apologized to her, according to her recollection in "Mark of a Killer." And her astute mind and the observations she made while captive eventually led to Long’s arrest by the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. He was arrested two weeks later.

Fifteen years later, in 1999, McVey actually joined that same sheriff's department, becoming a deputy specializing in sex crimes, according to Newsweek. Now 54, she has a grown daughter and a granddaughter. 

While the movie is not available on Netflix in the United States, it is available on demand. It can be streamed on the Lifetime Movie Club app and on Amazon Prime Video. It can also be purchased on the Microsoft Store.