8-Year-Old Kidnapped Saturday in Fort Worth Found Safe

An 8-year-old girl is safe after she was kidnapped while on a walk with her mother Saturday evening in Fort Worth, police say.

Fort Worth police tweeted at about 2:27 a.m. Sunday that they had located Salem Sabatka and that the suspect, later identified as 51-year-old Michael Webb, was in custody. Webb now faces a felony charge of aggravated kidnapping.

Photo credit: Fort Worth Police Department

According to police, Sabatka was walking with her mother along the 2900 block of 6th Avenue, in Fort Worth’s Ryan Place neighborhood, when Webb snatched the girl and put her in his car at about 6:38 p.m. The mother jumped into the car to try to fight Webb, but she was pushed out as he drove away with the girl, police said.

A neighbor’s doorbell camera captured the moment Sabatka’s mother was thrown from the car

An Amber Alert was issued at about 10 p.m. Law enforcement agencies including local police, the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Department of Homeland Security assisted in the investigation.

But it was a tip from the public that cracked the case.

According to police, two members of a local church began looking for the car described in the Amber Alert. They spotted a gray Ford 500 matching the description parked at the Wood Springs Suites in Forest Hill and called police.

Officers converged on the site, breached the door and found Sabatka inside with Webb. Sabatka was transported to Cooks Children’s hospital in good condition where she was reunited with her family.

NBC 5 spoke with Sabatka’s grandmother on Sunday. She said her family was deeply grateful for the community support.

“It is utterly amazing how many people came out to help,” she said. “It really makes you aware that there are a lot of good people out there.”

Neighbors in the Ryan Place community were among those searching for Sabatka. They plan to walk the streets again, at 6 p.m. Sunday at 5th Avenue and Elizabeth Boulevard — this time in celebration of Salem Sabatka’s safe return

Check back for updates to this breaking news story. As details unfold, elements of this story may change. NBC5’s Alice Barr contributed to this report.