Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Probe into Army blunders over missing Katrice
Heartbroken dad engages QC to find answers
THE Royal Military Police is being investigated over its handling of the disappearance of a British toddler in Germany in 1981.
The RMP admitted last year it made mistakes when Katrice Lee, then two, disappeared from a forces supermarket in Schloss Neuhaus, but would not elaborate.
Her dad Richard, who was a sergeant major in the Army nearby at the time, said the inves- tigation into what the errors were is at “a sensitive stage”. He has engaged John Cooper QC and has been to meet his MP Mike Hill at Westminster. Katrice was in the supermarket with her mum Sharon and aunt Wendy as Mr Lee parked the car. He walked in to find now ex-wife Sharon sobbing and Katrice gone.
He said: “John asked me why it had taken 48 hours for the RMP to get the search dogs out when Katrice first vanished. And he asked why it took six weeks for three supermarket cashiers to be interviewed.”
He says the scene was contaminated by the time dogs arrived.
Mr Lee, of Hartlepool, Co Durham, also said Katrice had a rare eye condition which was not “pushed enough” publicly.
He said he “washed his hands” of the force after it revealed bones excavated in the search for Katrice in Paderborn, Germany, were a horse’s on social media last year before telling him.
The RMP said it apologised but could not comment further.