Dad of girl who went missing to return his medals
The father of a girl who went missing more than 40 years ago has promised to walk to Downing Street to hand back his army medals in protest over the handling of the case.
Katrice Lee disappeared from a supermarket near a British military base in Paderborn, Germany, on November 28, 1981.
She went missing on her second birthday near
the base where her father Richard Lee was based, together with her now Gosport-based mother Sharon and 49-year-old sister Natasha.
Mr Lee, of Hartlepool, said he would be joined by other veterans when he travels to Downing Street on May 31 to return his medals.
He is planning to hand back his Northern Ireland general service medal and another medal awarded to him for 30 years of service and good conduct.
The family believe Katrice was taken and they were failed by the army, Royal Military Police and successive governments.
In 2012, the family received an apology from the Royal Military Police for failings in the initial investigation and reopened an inquiry under the name, Operation Bute.
Then, in 2017, the government agreed to review the case and an e-fit of a man seen putting a child in a car that had been created shortly after the youngster’s disappearance was released.
In 2019, a man was arrested in connection with her disappearance but was subsequently released without charge.
A Ministry of Defence spokesperson: “Our sympathies are with Richard Lee and his family as they continue to search for answers. The Defence Serious Crime Command and Unit, which now holds primacy for the investigation, continues to welcome any additional information that could help to determine Katrice’s whereabouts.”