Believe Me: Lisa McVey's Harrowing Interview Just Days After Her Escape From Bobby Joe Long

Warning: This article contains content that some readers may find distressing and/or triggering.

If, like us, you were glued to Believe Me: The Abduction of Lisa McVey this weekend, you'll know that the 2018 film is based on the real life story of 17-year-old Lisa McVey, who managed to escape her abductor Bobby Joe Long, after he snatched her on her way home from work in 1984.

Once Lisa had escaped, she went to the police, who soon realised the man who had taken her was responsible for the deaths of at least 10 other women in Tampa, Florida. Here, you can see a clip of an interview Lisa gave shortly after she fled:

In the harrowing clip, Lisa says she "could have been dead".

"This guy, he knew what he was doing, he had me," she said.

"I could have been dead, I could have been lying down in some ditches somewhere."

Lisa was just 17 when she was abducted at gunpoint while riding her bicycle home from work, on the evening of 3rd November 1984.

Lifetime/Netflix)

For 26 hours, Lisa was held captive by Long, who raped her multiple times. But using a series of survival tactics, Lisa - who had been abused as a child - managed to persuade Long to set her free.

"I had to take all of the abuse I had incurred as a child and just reach down one more time, into the pit of my stomach, and tap into those survivor skills in order to overcome him psychologically. And it worked. Here I am," she told Fox News in 2018.

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Once Lisa was free, she was able to help police capture the killer. From watching various crime television shows, she had hatched a plan to leave a trail of evidence during the time she was held captive.

She left fingerprints all over Long's bathroom, hair and a hair clip by the side of his bed and blood on his car seat.

Thanks to Lisa, Long was arrested on 16th November outside a cinema and received 28 life sentences and one death sentence.

He was executed in May 2019. Lisa, meanwhile, works as a member of the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. She specialises in sex crimes and protecting children.

Lifetime/Netflix)

You can watch Believe Me: The Abduction of Lisa McVey on Netflix now.

If you have been affected by this story, you can find help, advice and support from Rape Crisis here, or Survivor's Trust here.

Topics: TV News, Netflix

Lucy Devine

Lucy is a journalist working for Tyla. After graduating with a master's degree in journalism, she has worked in both print and online and is particularly interested in fashion, food, health and women's issues. Northerner, coffee addict, says hun a lot. Get in touch at [email protected].