From staff and wire reports

A woman kidnapped for ransom, raped and nearly beaten to death was expected to survive Friday as sheriff’s officials continued their investigation, authorities said.
Deqiang Song, 24, of Chicago was arrested just after 1 a.m. Thursday in San Gabriel on suspicion of kidnapping, attempted murder, rape and extortion, Los Angeles County sheriff’s officials said.
The alleged victim, a woman in her 20s, was found in the Apple Valley area Wednesday with major injuries and taken to an Antelope Valley hospital for treatment, Los Angeles County sheriff’s spokesman Steve Whitmore said.
“The good news is, it looks like she’s going to live,” he said. “It was touch and go for a while.”
Due to an ongoing investigation, few details were released Friday about the alleged crime and arrest.
“We’re still playing a little bit close to the vest,” he said.
The abduction is believed to have occurred in a rural area not far from the Los Angeles County-San Bernardino County border.
A person in Cerritos received a phone call Wednesday afternoon demanding money for the return of the victim, officials said.
Between about 11 p.m. Wednesday and 1 a.m. Thursday — after the woman had been found — a man working with undercover detectives left ransom money for the kidnapper under a truck in a parking lot outside the Hawaii Supermarket on East Valley Boulevard in San Gabriel, according to news reports.
According to sheriff’s booking records, Song was being held without bail at the sheriff’s Temple Station and was due for arraignment Monday in Alhambra Superior Court.
This incident is being investigated by the sheriff’s Major Crimes Bureau.