A young girl who was abducted from her father's home six years ago has been found starved but alive in a hotel room.
Penelope Inks was just nine when she was allegedly snatched by her mum Heather Inks - a former actress dubbed the "Nude Model Kidnapper" by the FBI - in Texas.
Now 15, the emaciated girl weighed little more than 5st (70lbs) when she was found about 150 miles away following an international manhunt.
She was being fed a diet of mostly Dr Pepper and candy, said Philip Klein, a private investigator hired by Penelope's dad, Kevin, to search for her.
The 37-year-old mum, once listed on the FBI's most wanted list, has a second child with a man who claims he had no idea she was Heather Inks, it was reported.
Mr Klein said Penelope, who vanished in February 2014, and her father were both relieved after she was found by officers.
He told ABC 13: "Relief for the father. Relief for the child, that she doesn't have to run all over the United States with a mother who, at best is a criminal, at worst is an animal."
The FBI said Inks abducted her daughter, lived in Texas City, and went on the run after the girl's father was granted sole custody.
Heather Inks went by several aliases as she eluded the authorities for half a decade, it is claimed.
She was a former nude model who wanted to appear in Playboy magazine, according to Mr Klein's investigative firm.
Law enforcement finally closed in after police in Madisonville received a call from a woman at a Days Inn hotel on April 4.
The woman claimed her ex-husband was trying to poison her but refused to give her real name.
She gave the name Rose Louvet and police ran it through a computer database.
It came up as a known alias for wanted fugitive Heather Inks, said Mr Klein.
Penelope was found abandoned in the same hotel.
Speaking as the case came to light this week, Mr Klein said: "She had her first meal. She was refusing to eat. She was living on Dr Pepper and candy.
"She's emaciated. Weighed 74 pounds. She's confused on who to trust, on who not to trust."
Penelope was taken to a hospital and handed over to Child Protective Services for further care, including counselling.
In a statement, Kevin Inks thanked the private investigators and the authorities for finding his daughter.
He said: "As you can assume, we are very emotional right now and many details of the capture of my ex-wife and my daughter are yet to come out.
"We are asking as a family that the media and public give us time to digest the events of (April 4) and begin the unification process with Penelope.
"I understand that my daughter is not in a mental or physical state to handle any more stress.”
Mr Inks will be reunited with Penelope when she is fit enough to be released by protective services.
Heather Inks remained in custody.
She faces charges of interfering with child custody and unlawful flight to avoid persecution.
She has a second child with a man who says he had no idea she was Heather Inks, KBTX TV reported.
According to Mr Klein's investigative firm, she sent her photos to Playboy magazine years ago but was turned down.
Kevin and Heather Inks appeared on the Dr Phil show in the US in 2008 as their relationship broke down.
