WICHITA, Kan. (KAKE) - A convicted sex offender has been charged after he allegedly tried to kidnap a 10-year-old boy in Wichita.

Webb Ketcherside was charged Wednesday with attempted kidnapping and aggravated indecent solicitation of a child. His bond was set at $75,000.

The incident happened Sunday afternoon in the 800 block of South Water. Police say the 62-year-old man approached the boy on a sidewalk, made sexually explicit comments and grabbed the boy's arm.

The child was able to break free and ran to the QuikTrip at Kellogg and Broadway for help.

Ketcherside was located and arrested at his apartment on Water Street. 

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Wichita police say they've arrested a man who grabbed a 10-year-old boy after making sexually explicit comments. 

Jail records show 62-year-old Webb Ketcherside was being help without bond for aggravated indecent solicitation of a child and attempted aggravated kidnapping.

Webb Ketcherside
Webb Ketcherside  


Officers responded at around 4:50 p.m. Sunday to a disturbance call at the QuikTrip at Kellogg and Broadway. They contacted the boy who told them he was walking on the sidewalk in the 800 block of South Wichita when Ketcherside approached on foot, made sexually explicit comments and grabbed the his arm.

The boy was able to break free and run to the QuikTrip for help, police spokesperson Kevin Wheeler said. He had minor injuries.

Officers investigated and located Ketcherside at his apartment in the 800 block of South Water. He was arrested without incident.

The case will be presented to the DA's office.

"These types of cases are rare, and WPD commends the boy for his bravery and running to get help," Wheeler said.  

A concerned Wichita mother has a son around the same age of the 10-year-old. She tries to have conversations about incidents like this with him.

"Man, if that little boy didn’t have the sense to go looking for someone, we could be looking for a little boy right now; he could be dead," says Valerie Gonzales.

Here are some tips for parents and children to keep your family safe:

  • Speak about safety issues;
  • Practice what you talk about;
  • Teach children it is better to get out of a dangerous situation than be polite;
  • Children tell a trusted adult before you go anywhere; and
  • If possible, don’t walk alone but with a friend or a trusted person.

Officer Wheeler said Ketcherside has previously been arrested and convicted on charges of indecent solicitation of a child, criminal threat, and theft.  He is also a registered sex offender through the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office.

A check of Kansas prison and sex offender records shows Ketcherside was last released in March of 2015. He was convicted of indecent solicitation of a 15-year-old girl in Smith Center in 1998.