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How did Forest Hill miss chance to rescue kidnapped 8-year-old? At Council meeting, public pushes for answers

It's been one month since an 8-year-old was kidnapped in Fort Worth.

FOREST HILL, Texas — One month to the day after an 8-year-old girl was kidnapped in Fort Worth, there are still so many unanswered questions. Perhaps the biggest question is: How did the Forest Hill Police department miss a chance to rescue her?

"What happened? Why did we not do our job in our city?" said Marvin Carter, a Forest Hill resident and member of the city's planning and zoning commission.

Carter appeared before City Council Tuesday night, pressing during a public comment session to ask why there are so many hotels in this small city and how a police department missed their opportunity.

On May 18, accused kidnapper Michael Webb brought the girl to a Forest Hill hotel, and the Forest Hill Police department got the call from a person there who thought something was amiss.

Forest Hill Police went to Webb's room and eventually did a visual inspection.

When they didn't see the girl, they left. Two hours later, Fort Worth Police rescued her from that same room when officers stormed in.

Webb is expected to be back in court to plead guilty to federal kidnapping charges.

RELATED: Michael Webb to plead guilty to kidnapping of 8-year-old girl in Fort Worth

According to signed court documents, he has admitted to kidnapping and assaulting the 8-year-old girl. He also faces multiple child sex assault charges related to the case in Tarrant County.

At City Hall, WFAA asked the Forest Hill police chief to answer questions, but he said that has been told not to answer by city administrators. He promised information will be coming soon.

Until then, Carter and others are prepared to demand answers.

"It happened in our city. We need to fix our city before it happens again," Carter said.

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