My baby girl was ‘kidnapped’ from a supermarket – cops made 5 huge mistakes which DESTROYED chances of ever finding her
AFTER a two-year-old was 'snatched' from a supermarket in Germany, cops made a series of mistakes that destroyed the chances of finding her.
Katrice Lee vanished without a trace on November 28, 1981, on her second birthday, while looking for her mum in a shopping centre.
The toddler was living with her sister, Natasha, who was seven at the time of the disappearance, and parents, Richard and Sharon.
They lived in a tight-knit community in a British Army base in Paderborn, Germany, where Katrice was supposedly snatched.
Richard waited in the car while Sharon, aunt Wendy and Katrice picked up items for a birthday tea party on the day of the disappearance.
When Sharon realised she'd forgotten to pick up some crisps at check-out, she quickly went to grab some.
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Wendy saw little Katrice wander off after her mother but tragically the toddler was never seen again.
Concerned Wendy and a frantic Sharon shouted her name down every aisle, but Katrice was gone.
To make matters worse, cops carried out a botched operation when trying to find her - a series of blunders that might have ruined chances of finding the tot.
COPS' BLUNDERS
Firstly, given the location of where Katrice went missing, a Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes (NAAFI) shopping complex in Germany, it was unclear which authorities would take charge.
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Time was spent deliberating whether the Royal Military Police (RMP) or the German Bundespolizei should lead the investigation.
Richard served as a sergeant in the 15th/19th King’s Royal Hussars and was from Hartlepool, and Sharon was from Portsmouth.
Since the incident occurred on a British military base but within German territory, the start of the investigation was stilted.
As soon as the toddler disappeared the family reported it but the authorities made two more mistakes.
Interviews were not conducted immediately and border control was not informed.
Witnesses and staff began to leave the shop before they were questioned, potentially with vital information about the abduction.
Shoppers who may have spotted Katrice weren't approached immediately, and when they were it was for no longer than six weeks.
Given the store's location, which is very close to the Netherlands and Belgium, Katrice could have been taken abroad within a couple of hours.
Border force was not made aware immediately which prevented the chance of her kidnapper being stopped as they passed through.
When the RMP finally took control of the situation, the errors didn't stop.
The investigation team believed the infant had toddled off towards the River Lippe, potentially to see some ducks.
Katrice however didn't like water and the Lee family tried to explain this to cops, who ignored them.
Her family said she didn't even like having baths so it would make no sense for her to walk towards a loud river.
Despite this, Richard said the RMP was convinced that's where she had gone.
Richard said he still doesn't know who had decided Katrice had gone into the river in 1981.
He had heard about a lucrative trade of nuns in Italy kidnapping and selling children to the East and thought it should be taken seriously.
The desperate father raised the possibility to the cops as a potential lead but the avenue was never explored.
OPERATION BUTE
The case closed shortly after her disappearance and was reopened in 2000 under the name Operation Bute after the story was aired on Crimewatch.
With new tech showing what Katrice might look like in her 20s there was a fresh attempt to track her down.
After the e-pic of Katrice was shown, there were three possible sightings of her.
One included a cryptic message telling Richard to look for his daughter in France, however this turned out to be fruitless.
A man who was standing behind the Lee family at checkout was interviewed as well as another staff member.
Another woman whose ex had murdered a child called in but the lead was ended as she died shortly after she came forward.
Detectives found bone fragments in the River Alme in 2018 and alerted the family, but it turned out to be a broken horse skeleton.
Richard and his family found out it wasn't their daughter through Twitter before being contacted by the RMP, another upsetting mistake.
The RMP admitted to making errors during the first investigation, but Richard said he just wishes cops had tried to connect the dots from day one.
In 2017 a witness revealed they had spotted a man with a green car with a young girl matching Katrice's description.
He was spotted putting a child in a car close to where Katrice was last seen in the military base supermarket in Paderborn.
Unfortunately in 2020, the RMP closed the investigation again.
Despite the ceased official investigation, Richard is still battling to look for his missing daughter.
He received a lot of support from the charity Missing People and got more coverage on Channel 5.
Now the veteran hopes to meet Sir Kier Starmer to discussed the botched case and plans to hand the service medals he was awarded back to the British Army in protest of how the case was handled.
Richard believes his little girl is still alive and said he will continue to try and find answers.
It's still unclear what happened to the youngster, with one theory suggesting she was taken and raised by a family somewhere else in Europe.
The shopping complex in where she disappeared is now an art gallery, where a photograph exhibition called Missing Katrice is on display.
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The Ministry of Defence said: "Our thoughts and sympathies remain with Katrice Lee's family.
"If anyone has any new information relating to the disappearance of Katrice, we would ask that they contact us on 0800 616 888."
