Disappearance of Katrice Lee

Katrice Lee was born on 28 November 1979, in BMH (British Military Hospital) Rinteln in West Germany, and spent the first two years of her life in Paderborn. Katrice Lee disappeared from a NAAFI shopping complex in Schloß Neuhaus, Paderborn in West Germany on 28 November 1981, the day of her second birthday. The family was at the time living in British Army quarters in Schloß Neuhaus.

Police believe Katrice was abducted from the NAAFI shop in Schloß Neuhaus, and has been raised by another family in England, Germany or elsewhere in Europe and now knows nothing of her true identity. Katrice's mother, Sharon Lee, wrote a poem dedicated to Katrice and all missing children. Her father, Richard Lee, who now lives in Hartlepool, County Durham, was a sergeant in the 15th/19th The King's Royal Hussars. He said any chance of knowing what happened to his daughter would be welcome. Her sister, civil servant Natasha Lee, from Gosport, was seven when Katrice vanished. Every year she celebrates Katrice's birthday by releasing a balloon from a beach near Gosport, where she now lives. She writes on it, "To Katrice, Happy Birthday wherever you are, from your big sis, Tash". She adds the date and place she disappeared.

Circumstances

It was Katrice's birthday and the family decided to go to the NAAFI in Schloß Neuhaus to buy things for her 2nd birthday party. For some reason, her sister, Natasha, decided that she did not want to go shopping. Their Aunty Wendy and Uncle Cliff had come over from Bielefeld (they worked for the Army) for the birthday party. Wendy went with Katrice’s parents while Cliff stayed at home with Natasha. Ritchie Lee drove them to the NAAFI and waited for them in the car-park. It was the last payday before Christmas so the NAAFI was packed. Katrice decided she did not want to go in the trolley so Mrs Lee carried her around the NAAFI supermarket. Mrs Lee got to the checkout and went back to get some crisps. When she returned to the checkout, Katrice was nowhere to be seen. Aunt Wendy thought she had followed her mother down the aisle but she had vanished.

Description

Katrice had a pink birthmark slightly to the right of the base of her spine, which looked like a rash. She also had a squint in her left eye, which could be corrected by surgery, although she may be using glasses to fix this. Her hair was curly and light brown and she had brown eyes. At the time of her disappearance her ears were not pierced and she spoke only English. Katrice was wearing red Wellington boots, a turquoise duffel coat, a green and blue tartan pinafore dress with a white blouse underneath it and white tights. The dress had frills round the shoulders.

The military police were effectively in charge, but had to negotiate with the German police because the NAAFI building was in a German town. Both the military and German police believed Katrice had fallen in the nearby river Lippe and drowned, but no body was found. The German police refused to go to the press. It was six weeks before an item appeared in the newspaper. The investigation did not get very far and despite dragging the local river and conducting house-to-house inquiries, no trace of Katrice was found.

Police re-opened the case of Katrice Lee in 2000, after computer technology helped them to form an image of how she could look now. People came forward who had never been interviewed. There was a young man who had been standing behind them at the checkout, and even one of the checkout ladies.

One woman also came forward to say that her boyfriend at the time, who was in the same regiment, had confessed to murdering a child. He lived up in Northumbria and the military police went to interview him. He denied it and the woman who gave the details died soon after, so nothing ever came of it. The military police told the family they thought he was probably a fantasist.

Three recent sightings of Katrice came after her story appeared on the BBC's Missing Live programme. During the show, a digital recreation of what Katrice could look like as a 29-year-old was shown.

Katrice's older sister, Natasha, appeared on Crimewatch to highlight the appeal. When she first went on Crimewatch a lady 'phoned and left a message on Katrice’s father’s answer machine. It said 'look for your daughter in France'. The police took the tape away, but there was nothing more. Major Kevin Bell-Walker, who was leading the inquiry, said: "With the advances in crime detection like search techniques, forensic archaeology and DNA profiling, it does suggest the case can be progressed after all this time".