My baby girl was kidnapped from supermarket till on her 2nd birthday – why I KNOW she’s still alive 43 years on

A DAD whose baby daughter disappeared from a supermarket on her second birthday says he knows why she must still be alive 43 years on.

Katrice Lee vanished from the shop on a British Army base in Paderborn, West Germany on November 28, 1981.

The tot lived on the base with her mum Sharon, sister Natasha and her soldier dad Richard.

She had been taken to the NAAFI supermarket as a birthday treat by Sharon, Richard and her aunt Wendy.

As Richard parked the car, Sharon and Wendy headed inside with Katrice.

The "cheeky" toddler refused to sit in a trolley and asked to be carried instead.

When they got to the checkout, Sharon suddenly remembered she needed crisps.

She headed down the aisle, assuming Katrice was following behind her.

But Katrice was left alone for for just a "matter of seconds" - and vanished without a trace.

There have been no sightings of Katrice in the 43 years since she disappeared.

Richard, now 75, believes Katrice was snatched to be sold as a surrogate daughter to a childless couple.

He said Katrice could have been driven to another European country, and may have grown up thinking the couple were her real parents.

Richard, from Hartlepool, told : "Just come home - just let us know you're alive.

"We need to know that you're OK and hopefully you're living a good life.

"We aren't naive. We take the view that I could possibly be a grandparent.

"She possibly could be speaking a different language or she could be in England - we don't know."

MISSED CHANCES

Katrice and her sister Natasha were born at the Paderborn base, where Richard was stationed at the height of the Cold War.

Richard served 34 years in the King's Royal Hussars, serving seven times in Northern Ireland and becoming a sergeant major.

But he said top brass and military police failed to investigate Katrice's disappearance properly.

At first, detectives dismissed the theory that Katrice could have been snatched.

They instead dredged a nearby river, assuming Katrice had fallen in and drowned.

Staff at the supermarket were not quizzed for more than six weeks - and no border alerts were issued.