Disappearance of Katrice Lee

[Holly Goodhead]

Hope I'm posting the above in the right area.

I read about the case in the DM earlier in the week.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Katrice_Lee

Towards the bottom of the link an update is provided regarding an imminent forensic search on the banks of the River Alme.   

[Wonderfulspam]

'WHERE'S OUR HAPPY ENDING?' Sister of girl, 2, who vanished on British Army base like The Missing reveals lifelong guilt of ‘resenting’ the toddler

Katrice Lee vanished in Paderborn, Germany, in 1981 when her mum turned her back for 30 seconds in a supermarket

AS Natasha Lee prepared for the happiest day of her life, she couldn't help feeling "resentful" that her younger sister was stealing the attention again.

But instead of Katrice causing a fuss at Natasha's wedding, her tormented family were focused on police searching a river in Germany for her body over 30 years after she disappeared.

In 1981, the two-year-old vanished in a supermarket on an Army base in Paderborn, Germany, where she lived with her mum Sharon, dad Richard and Natasha.

Her disappearance had chilling similarities to The Missing - but unlike the BBC show, Katrice's story doesn't have a happy ending.

Natasha - aged seven when her sister disappeared - said: “Last year, I said I was doing nothing for Katrice and it would be all about me and my wedding.

“But then they dropped this bombshell they were searching the river for a body.

“It’s terrible to say but I did feel quite resentful. It was all going to be about me but was about Katrice again.”

Though they have experienced both hope and utter despair trying to learn Katrice’s fate, the family have never wavered from the belief she was abducted by a family who couldn’t have children.

But the terror caused by Katrice’s disappearance has crept into every aspect of Natasha’s life.

She was “so proud” to be a big sister to the youngster, who with her adorable ringlets and cheeky smile charmed everyone even though she could sometimes be a “little nightmare”.

But instead of celebrating birthdays and family milestones with her little sister, Natasha has been forced to live a sheltered life as an only child.

This was no more apparent than last November when Natasha got married – with Katrice missing from her sister’s side as maid of honour.

Instead, boldly standing out against Natasha's stunning white wedding dress was a single red button from one of Katrice’s cardigans – the only item belonging to her sister she has left.

'EVERY PARENT'S WORST NIGHTMARE'
Natasha describes Katrice's disappearance as "every parent's worst nightmare" - her mum turned her back for 30 seconds and never saw her daughter again.

It was November 28, 1981 - Katrice's second birthday - and she was taken to the NAAFI store by Sharon, her aunt Wendy and dad Richard.

As Richard parked the car, Sharon and Wendy headed inside - the "cheeky" toddler refusing to go in a trolley and instead wanting to be carried.

But when they got to the checkout, Sharon suddenly remembered she needed crisps and ran off down an aisle.

She was unaware her youngest daughter had followed her and in the "matter of seconds" Katrice was alone, she vanished without a trace.

Read More....
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/9064474/katrice-lee-missing-germany-sister/

[misty]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tees-49818638  (24th September 2019)

Missing toddler Katrice Lee: Arrest made in Swindon

An arrest has been made over the 38-year-old mystery of a toddler who went missing in Germany.

Katrice Lee, from Hartlepool, disappeared from a supermarket near a British Army base in Paderborn on her second birthday in 1981.

She was with her mother at a Naafi supermarket when she vanished.

Royal Military Police said an arrest was made in the Swindon area but would not comment any further. A garden has also been searched.

A spokesman said: "We can confirm that an arrest was made on 23 September by the Royal Military Police in connection with the disappearance of Katrice Lee in 1981."

In 2012, Royal Military Police chiefs admitted mistakes were made during the initial investigation into Katrice's disappearance, and in 2017 the government agreed to review the case.

A year later, the Royal Military Police undertook a forensic search on the bank of the River Alma, near to where she went missing.

The river site was identified after the release of an age-progressed photo-fit of a man seen at the Naafi holding a child similar to Katrice.

He was seen in a parked green car on a bridge over the river the day after she went missing.

At the time, Katrice's father Richard Lee, a former sergeant major, said the news confirmed his long-held belief the toddler had been abducted.

More than 100 soldiers took part in the five-week search which unearthed bone fragments, but tests confirmed they were non-human.

Following the search Mr Lee said: "I believe what we should now be looking at a public inquiry into the treatment of the family through all of this and the way in which the case has been handled.

"If things had been done properly in 1981 we wouldn't still be going through this now."