MESA, Ariz. -- DNA evidence obtained from a 2007 kidnapping and sexual assault is linked to the deaths three years apart of two women, Mesa police said.

The cases were linked within the past week when forensic evidence returned showing the connection, said Detective Steve Berry of the Mesa Police Department.

The most recent case occurred on Aug. 16, 2007. A Hispanic woman was walking home near the intersection of Main Street and Horne in Mesa when an attacker jumped out of a vehicle alongside her in the parking lot of a strip mall, Berry said.

The attacker grabbed her, forced her into the vehicle and drove away, Berry said. She was driven to an unknown location where she was sexually assaulted, Berry said.

The victim, naked from the assault, was able to flee the home on foot, Berry said. As she was running, she was able to get dressed and flag down a cab, according to Berry.

She returned home where she called the police. "She's very lucky to be alive," Mesa police Chief George Gascon said Monday.

DNA was collected during a sexual assault exam.

Police said the DNA evidence has been directly linked to the unsolved deaths of Alisa Marie Beck in November of 2004 and Karen Jane Campbell in October of 2007, Berry said.

Campbell's naked body was found on a Mesa roadway. Beck's partially clothed body was found in an alley in 2004 about five miles from where Campbell was found.

Police connected the two killings in December. At the time, police said both women had a history of drug abuse and prostitution, and that neither had a home.

Berry said the sexual assault and kidnapping of the surviving victim was linked to the killings late last week. He said it has taken five months to link that case to the killings because of the backlog of DNA evidence at crime labs.

The Mesa Police Department is asking anyone who may have been in the area of Main Street and Horne on Aug. 16, 2007, between noon and 2 p.m. to contact them.

Police said they are also seeking to locate the cab driver who picked up the victim and drove her home, or anyone who may have seen an unclothed woman running down the street.

Berry said assistance by the public will be crucial in helping detectives solve the deaths and sexual assault.

Anyone with information is asked to call 480-644-5763.