My baby girl was ‘kidnapped’ from a supermarket – cops made 5 huge mistakes which DESTROYED chances of ever finding her
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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.
![[Photo of a toddler girl smiling in a red dress.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/katrice-lee-collect-402424783.jpg?strip=all&w=693)
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.
![[A man holding a photo of his daughter who disappeared from a supermarket in Germany in 1981.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/ffd2398a-3e11-4092-ad03-daa2ece47638.jpg?strip=all&w=708)
Richard waited in the car while Sharon, aunt Wendy and Katrice picked up items for a birthday tea party. When Sharon realised she'd forgotten to pick up some crisps at check-out, she quickly went to grab some. Wendy saw little Katrice wander off after her mother but the toddler was never seen again.
![[Photo of two young sisters outdoors.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/1981-never-found-tasha-button-818739077.jpg?strip=all&w=887)
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. 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.
![[Richard Lee, father of missing toddler Katrice Lee, speaks to the media.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/f4ecf35f-87a2-454b-805d-cb7bb5a65ceb.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
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.
![[Age progression image of Katrice Lee, who disappeared in 1981.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/5848b9e9-acec-4895-91ca-7d8f7898b67f.jpg?strip=all&w=951)
