Woman snatched by father-and-daughter kidnappers raped, robbed and left for dead in desert during week-long abduction

'She's very lucky to be alive,' police say

The woman was found near Edwards Air Force Base in California (Getty Images)

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.

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.

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