Poinbank:Man indicted on murder charge in connection with disappearance of girl more than 20 years ago

BECKLEY,Poinbank W.Va. (AP) — A special grand jury has indicted a West Virginia man on a murder charge in the disappearance of a 10-year-old girl more than two decades ago, authorities said.

Larry Webb is accused of killing Natasha “Alex” Carter, Raleigh County Prosecuting Attorney Ben Hatfield said Tuesday. Carter and her mother, Susan Carter, have not been seen since Aug. 8, 2000.

At the time they went missing, Susan Carter was in a contentious custody battle with Natasha’s father and had told him he would never see his daughter again, according to an FBI flyer from back then that said the pair might have left the state. Carter and her daughter were apparently living in Webb’s house when they disappeared, news outlets reported.

The FBI announced a renewed push for answers in the case in 2021. Police executed search warrants at Webb’s home in 2022 and 2023 and authorities said they recovered additional evidence in the investigation.

During the last search, Webb, who is in his 80s, told news outlets he did not know what happened to the girl and did not know when he last saw her.

“I don’t remember,” Webb said. “I have dementia. I can’t say exactly.”

The disappearance of Susan Carter, who is presumed dead, is still under investigation, Hatfield said. “The wealth of evidence that we had pertained to the death of Natasha ‘Alex’ Carter,” he said.

Hatfield said police were working to arrest Webb, who was currently in a “quasi-medical housing situation.”

It was not clear if Webb has an attorney. A circuit court clerk said she did not have an attorney of record listed and the public defender’s office declined to answer questions.