A woman has been found alive after being left for dead in the desert after a week-long kidnapping by a father and daughter, police in Los Angeles said. 

She was reportedly raped, robbed and kept inside a room in a house for a week.

Stanley Alfred Lawton and his daughter, Shaniya Nicole Poche-Lawton, then dumped the victim off a highway near an air force base where she was found by military personnel, Los Angeles County sheriff’s captain Eduardo Hernandez said at a news conference. 

Download the new Indpendent Premium app

Sharing the full story, not just the headlines

He called it “a vicious case” and said "she's very lucky to be alive". 

The woman was kidnapped at gunpoint in Las Vegas and taken to Mr Lawton’s home in California, authorities said.

left Created with Sketch. right Created with Sketch.

The father and daughter are accused of taking the victim to cash machines to extract money and sexually assaulting her.

The woman was eventually left in the desert without food or water near Edwards Air Force Base, north of Los Angeles. 

Officials said the woman was known to the victim but did not provide a motive. She has been released from hospital and has returned to Nevada

Both Mr Lawton and Ms Poche-Lawton have been arrested.

They face charges including kidnapping to commit a robbery, attempted murder, rape and three counts of first-degree ATM robbery, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.

Additional reporting by Associated Press

Only the best news in your inbox