East Texas Man found Guilty of Kidnapping Girl

FORT WORTH (AP/STAFF) – A 51-year-old Tyler man has been convicted of kidnapping in the abduction of an 8-year-old girl as she walked with her mother along a street in Fort Worth. Jurors returned a guilty verdict against Michael Webb Wednesday after deliberating for about 15 minutes. A federal judge will determine Webb’s sentence. Prosecutors have requested a life prison term. Testimony included video of Webb admitting to an FBI agent that he snatched the girl from the street. The girl was abducted May 18. Police acting on a tip searched Webb’s hotel room in nearby Forest Hill the next morning but didn’t find her.

They returned two hours later and recovered the girl. The Forest Hill police chief fired a sergeant who went to the room both times for displaying “ineptitude.”