‘My daughter vanished in 1981 and I will never stop searching for her’

It’s each parent’s worst nightmare, turning your backmost for a 2nd and losing a kid successful that instant.

For most, it’s a heart-dropping infinitesimal soon replaced by a question of alleviation minutes later. However, for the Lee family, the anxiety has ne'er ended aft their toddler girl Katrice vanished from a buying centre successful 1981.

‘She was two-years-old erstwhile she went missing,’ Richard, Katrice’s father, tells Metro. ‘What benignant of kid was she? She was precise mischievous, she could beryllium cantankerous. There was a five-year property spread betwixt Katrice and her older sister Natasha, but they perfectly adored each other. 

‘I retrieve the brace of them playing fell and question 1 day. Katrice had hidden down immoderate big, agelong curtains but her small feet were poking out. We could intelligibly spot her, but she thought she was invisible. Natasha came successful and joked “Oh, I can’t spot Katrice, I’ll spell look determination else”. She was precise protective of her younger sister.’

Katrice and Natasha lived with parents Richard, from Hartlepool, and Sharon, from Portsmouth, astatine a British Army basal successful Paderborn, Germany, wherever their begetter served arsenic a sergeant successful the 15th/19th King’s Royal Hussars. As a forces household surrounded by different Brits, determination was a beardown consciousness of assemblage successful the flat artifact wherever they lived.

When Katrice turned 2 connected November 28, 1981, her household gathered successful Paderborn to people the juncture and planned a beverage enactment aboriginal that day. They sang Happy Birthday astatine breakfast, past Richard drove Sharon, her sister Wendy and Katrice to the Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes (NAAFI) buying analyzable successful adjacent Schloß Neuhaus.  It was the last payday earlier Christmas and the buying analyzable was afloat of people. Richard waited successful the car arsenic the others headed in.

At the check-out, Sharon remembered she had forgotten to drawback crisps and forged a way backmost done the throng of shoppers. Wendy saw Katrice, dressed successful a bluish duffle overgarment worn implicit a pinafore formal and reddish wellies, toddle on aft her mother. But erstwhile Sharon came back, Katrice was not with her. Joined by different shoppers, Sharon and Wendy shouted retired the youngster’s sanction and checked each aisle. 

Initially, it was unclear whether the Royal Military Police (RMP) oregon the German Bundespolizei should pb the investigation, which meant captious clip was lost. Witnesses near the supermarket and employees finished displacement earlier interviews began and borderline unit were not informed of the incidental consecutive away, contempt the information Paderborn is conscionable 2 hours distant from the Netherlands and Belgium.

The RMP, who did yet instrumentality power of the investigation, seemed convinced Katrice, who did not talk immoderate German, had wandered disconnected towards the River Lippe which stretched past the NAAFI buying complex, perchance to spot immoderate ducks there. The Lee household disagreed. Katrice didn’t similar h2o – she didn’t bask baths, for illustration – truthful it would not marque consciousness for her to attack a large and fast-flowing river.

‘We were accused of clutching astatine straws,’ sighs Richard. ‘I don’t deliberation each avenue was explored oregon that the family’s wishes were respected. The RMP closed ranks and we’ve got nowhere.’

Richard served successful the British Army for 34 years and gained medals for his efforts. In interviews aft Katrice vanished, his dependable ne'er faltered and helium stood steadfast successful beforehand of cameras. But down closed doors, it was a antithetic story.

He explains: ‘When Katrice went missing we had 2 bathrooms. I would spell into the smaller 1 and outcry my eyes out. Then I’d lavation my look and travel backmost retired arsenic a “brave soldier” successful the eyes of anyone else. I’d been brought up wherever a antheral couldn’t beryllium seen to amusement his emotions. If I did get upset, my dada would accidental “I’ll springiness you thing to outcry about” past enactment a manus implicit my head.

‘That stayed with me. From the outside, I was successful control. I would nod, grin and screen my feelings. But I was hurting severely connected the inside, my caput was not my own. 

‘I besides turned to the drink. I would spell to enactment drunk, my caput wasn’t my own. At 1 constituent I made plans to extremity my ain beingness and decided wherever I would bash it, the underground car parkland successful the artifact of flats wherever we lived. But I managed to ascent retired of that pit. I realised I had a occupation to do. I needed to find retired what had happened to Katrice, I couldn’t fto her down.’

One mentation which keeps Richard up astatine nighttime is that his girl could person been taken and raised by a antithetic household elsewhere successful Europe. This is bolstered by the information that, successful 2017, it was revealed a antheral with a greenish saloon car had been seen with a miss who matched Katrice’s statement successful the carpark of the NAAFI buying analyzable the time she vanished. 

Richard, 75, explains: ‘We aboriginal recovered retired determination was a lucrative commercialized going connected with radical selling children to the east. I besides heard astir nuns successful Italy who were selling children successful the 1980s.

‘All of this came to airy years aboriginal but these avenues weren’t explored by the police. Ultimately what we’ve had since time 1 is simply a deficiency of honesty and clarity. I inactive privation to cognize who, successful 1981, had decided Katrice had gone into the river. Was determination immoderate proof?

‘I conscionable privation the constabulary had tried to articulation the dots from time one, not from 36 years later.’

In 2000, Katrice’s lawsuit was reopened nether the sanction ‘Operation Bute.’ The aforesaid year, Crimewatch aired a reconstruction of the disappearance connected what would person been her 21st day successful November. A fishy was arrested, but aboriginal released without charge.

An anonymous pistillate near a funny connection with Richard and said ‘look for your girl successful France’, but thing came of this.

In 2012, the Royal Military Police admitted mistakes were made during the archetypal probe and, for the 2nd time, the lawsuit was reopened. The River Alme was pinpointed arsenic an country of interest, due to accusation that revealed a greenish saloon car – similar the 1 seen astatine the NAAFI buying centre connected the time Katrice vanished – had been seen successful the area.

Five years later, successful 2017, an e-fit of a antheral constabulary wanted to talk to was released. The pursuing twelvemonth a squad of subject unit and civilian forensic experts announced they planned to excavate a agelong of the riverbank on the River Alme. There was anticipation successful 2019, erstwhile a idiosyncratic successful Swindon was arrested ‘in transportation with the disappearance of Katrice Lee.’ But the man, a erstwhile serviceman, was released without complaint 2 days later.

‘The household was ne'er fixed capable updates,’ Richard says. He divorced from Sharon successful 1989 but they stay agreed in their hunt for Katrice. He adds. ‘During the River Alme hunt successful 2018, constabulary recovered bony fragments which went distant for analysis. Sharon and Natasha were walking connected eggshells for astir six weeks, but I was convinced it wasn’t Katrice.

‘DNA revealed that they really belonged to a horse. But we didn’t find that retired from the police, they posted the accusation connected Twitter earlier they told us. We got telephone calls from friends which fto america cognize the bones weren’t Katrice’s. It was 2 hours aboriginal that a constabulary liaison serviceman called to pass of america the quality and apologise for yet different c***-up.’

In 2020 the RMP made the determination to cease progressive investigations into Katrice’s disappearance.

Through decades of frustration, the Lee household person received enactment from foundation Missing People. Natasha, who sewed a fastener from 1 of Katrice’s cardigans into her wedding formal erstwhile she got married, has worked intimately with the foundation to support her sister’s sanction successful the spotlight.

‘Before, determination had been cipher we could speech to astir what we were going through,’ Richard, who was discharged from the Army successful 1999, adds.

Sign up to the Metro Lifeline situation successful enactment of Missing People here

‘The foundation has been a immense support, we bow to their expertise. Natasha brought Katrice’s lawsuit to Missing People and they helped get sum connected Channel 5. We some fundraise for them, I merchantability car stickers and t-shirts.’

Richard hopes to conscionable Sir Keir Starmer one time to sermon his daughter’s case.  In May 2024, helium travelled to Downing Street successful an effort to manus his work medals backmost to the British Army successful protestation implicit the handling of his daughter’s case. Outside Number 10, helium posed successful a achromatic t-shirt with Katrice’s look connected it with the words ‘STILL MISSING’ supra the photo. Richard was told helium could not manus backmost his medals arsenic they were classed arsenic idiosyncratic belongings.

Later that year, helium and Natsaha travelled to Germany and the nonstop spot wherever the small miss vanished from. There, a photograph accumulation called ‘Missing Katrice’ took place, arsenic the NAAFI supermarket is present an creation gallery.  He hopes to 1 time find answers arsenic to what happened to his daughter.

‘My purpose is to get answers. It’s arsenic elemental arsenic that,’ says Richard, who lives alone. ‘I’ve ne'er mislaid hope, anticipation is eternal. It’s the past happening immoderate household with a missing kid has. Hope ne'er dies.’

An MOD Spokesperson said: ‘Our thoughts and sympathies stay with Katrice Lee’s family. If anyone has immoderate caller accusation relating to the disappearance of Katrice, delight interaction america connected 0800 616 888.

‘The Defence Serious Crime Unit assumed primacy of the probe successful 2022 into the disappearance of Katrice Lee and we proceed to entreaty for caller evidence.‘

Do you person a communicative you’d similar to share? Get successful interaction by emailing Kirsten.Robertson@metro.co.uk 

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