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 Hits Radio: “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.”
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.
In 2020 the search for Katrice was downgraded to “reactive” status, the official jargon for a cold case.
Richard told the Hartlepool Mail: “I never thought at the age of 75 I would still be fighting.
“Not only for my daughter, but for justice for what wasn’t done. More could have been done and it wasn’t done.
“They failed my daughter and it’s about time they took the facts on the chin and admit their failings.”
The supermarket where Katrice vanished is now and art gallery – and is currently hosting an photo exhibition called Missing Katrice.
Richard visited the exhibition last month and said many visitors were reduced to tears.
He told the BBC: “She could be married, speaking another language and I could be a grandfather three times over.”
Richard added: “Who knows? I have one dream, and it is a recurring dream.
“A woman comes forward, grabs hold of me, gives me a cuddle and whispers in my ear ‘I am Katrice’.”
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.
“The Defence Serious Crime Unit became operational on December 5, 2022.
“It assumed primacy of the investigation into the disappearance of Katrice Lee.
“It would be inappropriate to comment on the investigations made by the Royal Military Police and the German police between 1981 and 2022.”
