A policeman who survived a serial killer as a teenager is now on his way to becoming a detective

A TampaThe Florida police officer who miraculously escaped the clutches of a serial killer as a teenager and helped authorities catch her attacker is now on her way to becoming a detective, exactly 40 years after her unimaginable story of survival.

Deputy Master Lisa McVey from Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office spoke to Fox News Digital about her harrowing experience as a young woman 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 said on Fox News Digital.

At 17, McVey was riding her bike home in the early morning hours from her double shift at a Tampa Krispy Kreme when she was pulled from her moving bike and kidnapped by serial killer Bobby Joe Long on November 3, 1984. For 26 hours, McVey endured severe abuse and torture while Long brutally raped her repeatedly. Thinking she was going to die, she left traces of DNA evidence in Long’s red Dodge Magnum and apartment to make sure there is evidence of what happened – including fingerprints and a barrette with a strand of hair.

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The young teenager, who had undergone a traumatic upbringing, already knew what it meant to survive, and she continued to stay one step ahead of her captor mentally.

“I’m 17 years old and I’m in the fight for my life,” McVey, now 57, said.

She eventually overcame her attacker and convinced him to let her go, using a made-up story about having a sick father who needed her care.

The evidence she left behind, along with her extraordinarily detailed recollection of her abduction, such as the number of steps to her attacker’s apartment, helped authorities track down and capture Long .

FOX NATION PREMIERE OF ‘SURVIVING A SERIAL KILLER’ WITH HARRIS FAULKNER

Chief Deputy Lisa McVey of the Hillsborough County (Florida) Sheriff’s Office. (Fox Nation)

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“I think that’s what drives me to want to be a detective,” McVey told Fox News Digital. “They’ve been looking for a notorious serial killer for eight months. Here’s a 17 year old…my evidence and my quick thinking and my retention, remembering every little detail not only saved my life, but countless lives, didn’t it? two weeks, we catch him… We worked with the police.”

McVey is on the eligibility list to become a detective and attended a 30-day detective career development program.

“I ended up working in the Criminal Investigations Division with victims of sexual assault, drownings, battery, missing children, exploited,” 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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McVey is about to become a detective. (Lisa McVey)

Serial killer Bobby Joe Long. (Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office)

Long confessed to killing 10 women in the Tampa area. He was finally executed by the state of Florida for his crimes in 2019, 30 years after his capture, and McVey stood in the front row as a witness.

“Bobby Joe Long, thank you,” McVey said in a statement after the execution. “Thank you for choosing me over another 17-year-old girl. The reason I’m saying thank you now is because I’ve forgiven you for what you did to me. If I hadn’t forgiven you, I might as well be in my own prison without walls.”

McVey’s 1984 kidnapping, her incredible escape and her work as a Master Deputy are featured in the three-part Fox Nation series “Surviving a Serial Killer” with Harris Faulkner.

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“Surviving a Serial Killer” tells McVey’s story of survival. (Fox Nation)

McVey 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 his honor I wanted to take his last name because my aunt and uncle are the only ones who came and saved me when I was 17 to give me a home she said. .

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On the anniversary of her kidnapping and survival, Deputy Master Lisa Mae looks back with strength and hope for the future.

“I’m excited to explore and live another 40 years at the most … live in freedom,” she said. “My freedom was granted, you know, 40 years ago.”