Michael Webb, Man Accused in Fort Worth Kidnapping, Lived 8 Miles Away From Family

A man accused of abducting an 8-year-old Texas girl lived about eight miles away from where she was abducted while walking with her mother Saturday.

Michael Webb lived in South Fort Worth, not far from Crowley, in a middle class neighborhood. An American flag flies out front of his house.

A woman inside the house declined to open the door on Wednesday.

A neighbor, Marcus Brackens, said he saw Webb about three weeks ago on his front porch, apparently supervising three young children riding bicycles.

He said the children included two girls and one boy around the same age as the girl who was abducted.

"I can't believe it," Brackens said. "It's just crazy how we're in the neighborhood and this happens."

Police in Tyler, where Webb has been arrested at least eight times since 1993, said they were taking a fresh look at old cases involving attempted abductions or missing children.

So far there is no indication he is a suspect in any unsolved crimes, authorities said.

Webb, 51, appeared in federal court in Fort Worth on Tuesday for an initial hearing where he said he understood the charge against him and affirmed his need for a public defender.

Webb was transferred to federal custody hours before after first being held in the Tarrant County Jail on a state charge of aggravated kidnapping after being found in a Forest Hill hotel room with the missing girl. A bond of $100,000 was issued on that charge, but since he's in federal custody without bond pending a hearing, the state bond is moot.

Forest Hill officers acting on a tip questioned Webb at the hotel but didn't find the girl; they returned two hours later, with Fort Worth police, after receiving another tip and found her inside the room.

Webb's court-appointed attorney didn't return a phone call seeking comment.