How the investigation went

On November 28, 1981, two-year-old military child Katrice Lee disappeared from a shopping center near Paderborn, Germany.

Her family has been searching for her ever since.

The Lee family lived in Schloß Neuhaus, while Katrice’s father, Richard Lee, served as a sergeant in the 15th/19th King’s Royal Hussars in Paderborn.

The two-year-old was born with an eye disease in her left eye, which would have required two operations to correct.

What were the circumstances of her disappearance?

Katrice disappeared from the Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes (NAAFI) shopping center in Schloß Neuhaus near Paderborn.

The family was at a checkout in NAAFI when Katrice’s mother Sharon realized she had forgotten chips.

She asked her sister Wendy, Katrice’s aunt, to look after the toddler, but when she returned after what she estimated to be less than a minute, the little girl had disappeared.

Wendy told Sharon that the two-year-old was running after her and she thought they were together.

The family immediately raised the alarm and searched the NAAFI, calling the girl’s name. Mr Lee’s comrades also helped in the search.

Original search

Both the German police and the Royal Military Police (RMP) conducted an extensive search of the area with the help of soldiers and volunteers.

The RMP had de facto responsibility, but had to negotiate with the German police because the NAAFI building was located in a German city.

The investigation did not produce any major results and despite searching the local river and asking house to house questions, no trace of Katrice was ever found.

Mr Lee, who criticised the initial effort, later told Forces News that the number of “people on the ground” had apparently “dried out” after the first full day of searching for Katrice.

The theories

German police suspected that Katrice may have fallen into the fast-flowing Lippe river near NAAFI, which was thoroughly investigated.

However, the Lee family always rejected this theory and stated that Katrice had not gone near water.

Mr Lee and his family believe Katrice was abducted and taken as a surrogate child and are critical of the initial investigations which focused on the lip.

He said: “I believe the entire investigation was a farce.

“We felt like we had always been bottom feeders in the aquarium.”

An access road to the complex had to be closed and the names of those there had to be recorded, he said, adding that the “golden hours” of the search had been missed because the focus was on the river.

Ms Lee also complained about the investigation, saying: “It took six weeks to interview the girls who worked at the cash register on the day my daughter disappeared, and in one case it took 20 years to interview one of those employees.”

“It took 48 hours for the border control posts to be informed of the disappearance of my two-year-old daughter and 24 hours for the sniffer dogs to be brought to NAAFI to track down Katrice.”

The case is reopened twice

The case was first reopened in 2000 under the name Operation Bute.

The BBC programme Crimewatch reconstructed Katrice’s disappearance on the day she celebrated her 21st birthday in November 2000.

A suspect was found, but released without charges and the case was subsequently discontinued.

In 2012, the RMP admitted that mistakes had been made in the first investigation and the case was reopened for a second time.

The RMP re-analysed the information collected during the initial investigation and identified the Alme River as an area of ​​particular interest.

New Photo-Fit

In February 2017, RMP released a photo of a man they wanted to speak to in connection with the case.

An eyewitness reportedly saw the man seen in the photo carrying a small child into a green sedan at the time of his disappearance.

The river Alme

In April 2018, a team of military personnel and civilian forensic experts announced that they planned to excavate a section of the river bank along the Alme.

A review of the evidence found that the river bank was “significant and interesting”.

Lead investigating officer Warrant Officer Richard O’Leary said a green sedan, a key focus of the investigation, was also seen on a bridge over the River Alme the day after Katrice’s disappearance.

Excavations on the river bank began in early May and were scheduled to last five weeks, but the military said investigators were able to complete the work sooner than planned.

The British military announced on May 29, 2018, that it had closed the investigation after finding no new evidence.

During the search, bone fragments were found, but the forensic experts did not consider them to be related to a child of Katrice’s age.

The site was excluded from the investigation in June 2018.

The arrest

On September 23, 2019, the Royal Military Police arrested a person in connection with the disappearance of Katrice Lee.

The man, a former soldier, was released two days later without charge.

An army spokesman said: “The search of an address in Swindon is continuing and the Royal Military Police are keeping the Lee family updated on developments.”

Katrice’s father Richard said: “This arrest brings everything back and makes it shake once again so clearly.

“Like all parents in all missing child cases, we want a happy ending, but that may not be the case and we just hope we get answers.”

A woman poses online as Katrice

Heidi Robinson, 40, set up a Facebook profile under the name Katrina.

Mrs Robinson sent a friend request on Facebook to Katrice’s sister Natasha Walker.

She continued to pose as the missing toddler despite family pressure to delete the profile.

After DNA testing confirmed she was not Katrice, she claimed it was a cover-up.

In October 2019, Ms Robinson was sentenced to 18 weeks’ imprisonment, suspended for two years, with a requirement to undergo 12 months’ psychiatric treatment and 40 days’ rehabilitation activity.

Investigations scaled back

In December 2020, the renewed investigations were scaled back when the military police announced that they would only respond to new investigative leads.

Then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson agreed to a “father-to-father” meeting with Mr Lee on November 3, 2021, to reassure him that his daughter had not been forgotten.

Following his pledge, Mr Lee tweeted to Forces News: “I have been in this situation before.

“Until I sit in his office, I will approach the matter with caution.”

Later in the month, Mr Lee visited the site in Germany where his daughter disappeared nearly four decades ago and encouraged anyone with new information to come forward.

He said: “I had two wonderful years with Katrice’s childhood and then she was taken from us on her second birthday and that is the tragedy.

“I will now continue to follow Katrice’s case in the media as best I can so that we can get answers.

“Without keeping the media informed, you won’t get any answers.”

40 years later

40 years after the toddler’s disappearance, Katrice’s family has launched a new appeal for new information.

Natasha Walker, Katrice Lee’s older sister, said living without her sister was “the hardest thing ever” and urged anyone with information to come forward.

“The question of whether she is safe and sound or whether something terrible has happened to her is relentless,” she said. “We can only live in hope.”

“Someone knows the answers that will free us from the pain we carry.

“I urge anyone who knows anything to contact Missing People.

“Please help us bring her home.”

Further promises

In May 2022, Mr Lee met briefly with Boris Johnson, when he was still Prime Minister, to discuss his missing daughter.

“The last words Boris Johnson said to me were: ‘Well, I have taken note of your arguments and I will stay in touch.'”

But Mr Lee said no one from the government has contacted him since then.

The former soldier says he will not stop looking for answers to Katrice’s disappearance.

“I am sad that I am not getting answers, but I will continue to fight to get answers in my daughter’s case, and I want to stress, what father in my situation would not do the same?”

“My medals mean nothing to me”

In November 2023, Mr Lee announced that he would return his service medals in protest at the handling of the case.

The former warrant officer plans to march to Downing Street with a group of other veterans in May 2024 and return his service medals as he demands answers about their disappearance.

Mr Lee told Forces News: “My medals mean nothing to me. My daughter means everything to me.”

“I’m always asked how I keep hope alive, and the answer is, ‘It keeps me hopeful.’

“I have another daughter out there. Her name is Katrice Lee and I want answers.”