Latest news with #RichardLee
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
'Darkest days' for father of missing Katrice Lee
The father of a two-year-old girl who vanished in 1981 has revealed how his vow to solve the mystery led him away from thoughts of self-harm. No trace has ever been found of Katrice Lee, who went missing on her birthday near a military base in Germany where her father Richard was stationed. In an episode of the new BBC podcast Katrice Lee: A Father's Story, he reveals how he contemplated taking his own life, but instead promised Katrice's sister, Natasha Walker, that he would continue his fight for answers. Ms Walker, who lives in Hampshire, said the podcast revealed her father's "darkest days". The first episode recounts how Katrice was with her mother Sharon and aunt Wendy at a Naafi supermarket in Paderborn on 28 November 1981, the girl's second birthday. Katrice ran off down an aisle and was never seen again. Authorities in Germany were initially suspicious of her parents and also speculated that Katrice had wandered unchallenged to the River Lippe and drowned. However, Mr Lee, from Hartlepool, said the case should have been treated as a possible abduction. He told the programme: "It was a nightmare that I didn't think would still be a nightmare 42 years later. I've never left day one in reality." In 2012, Royal Military Police apologised for mistakes in their initial investigation. Five years later, the force revealed that a man had been seen putting a child into a green car in the same area on the same day of Katrice's disappearance. The information, which the force had received in 1981, led to a five-week excavation by soldiers of a site in Germany but no trace of the girl was found. The podcast reveals Mr Lee's emotions, in interviews recorded at different points over the last 44 years. He said: "I went down some very dark routes and very dark avenues. And at my lowest point, I actually thought about suicide. "My choice was to continue the fight. I made a promise and that's what brought me out of the darkness. "I made a promise to Natasha that I would continue the fight to get answers until I can no longer fight." Ms Walker said: "It can be at times very difficult to listen to your parents breaking their hearts on this podcast. "But then when you have an opportunity to raise awareness again that your sister is still missing, obviously you're going to do everything that you can." In a statement, the Ministry of Defence said: "Our thoughts and sympathies remain with Katrice Lee's family and if anyone has any new information relating to the disappearance of Katrice they can contact us." The podcast Katrice Lee: A Father's Story is available via the BBC Sounds app. If you have been affected by the issues raised in this article, help and support is available via BBC Action Line. Father of girl missing since 1981 to meet minister Missing girl exhibition 'brings visitors to tears' 'I will never stop hunting for my lost daughter'
BBC News
4 days ago
- General
- BBC News
'Darkest days' for father of missing Katrice Lee
The father of a two-year-old girl who vanished in 1981 has revealed how his vow to solve the mystery led him away from thoughts of trace has ever been found of Katrice Lee, who went missing on her birthday near a military base in Germany where her father Richard was an episode of the new BBC podcast Katrice Lee: A Father's Story, he reveals how he contemplated taking his own life, but instead promised Katrice's sister, Natasha Walker, that he would continue his fight for Walker, who lives in Hampshire, said the podcast revealed her father's "darkest days". The first episode recounts how Katrice was with her mother Sharon and aunt Wendy at a Naafi supermarket in Paderborn on 28 November 1981, the girl's second ran off down an aisle and was never seen again. Authorities in Germany were initially suspicious of her parents and also speculated that Katrice had wandered unchallenged to the River Lippe and Mr Lee, from Hartlepool, said the case should have been treated as a possible told the programme: "It was a nightmare that I didn't think would still be a nightmare 42 years later. I've never left day one in reality."In 2012, Royal Military Police apologised for mistakes in their initial years later, the force revealed that a man had been seen putting a child into a green car in the same area on the same day of Katrice's information, which the force had received in 1981, led to a five-week excavation by soldiers of a site in Germany but no trace of the girl was found. The podcast reveals Mr Lee's emotions, in interviews recorded at different points over the last 44 said: "I went down some very dark routes and very dark avenues. And at my lowest point, I actually thought about suicide. "My choice was to continue the fight. I made a promise and that's what brought me out of the darkness."I made a promise to Natasha that I would continue the fight to get answers until I can no longer fight."Ms Walker said: "It can be at times very difficult to listen to your parents breaking their hearts on this podcast. "But then when you have an opportunity to raise awareness again that your sister is still missing, obviously you're going to do everything that you can."In a statement, the Ministry of Defence said: "Our thoughts and sympathies remain with Katrice Lee's family and if anyone has any new information relating to the disappearance of Katrice they can contact us." The podcast Katrice Lee: A Father's Story is available via the BBC Sounds app. If you have been affected by the issues raised in this article, help and support is available via BBC Action Line.
BBC News
25-05-2025
- BBC News
Katrice Lee: A Father's Story
Two-year-old Katrice Lee vanished near a British Army base in Germany in father, Richard Lee, has spent four decades trying to find out what happened to his little part of a BBC Sounds series, launched on International Missing Children's Day, Mr Lee - from Hartlepool - describes how he has coped with being in the headlines while trying to get help from the authorities, both in the UK and recording Katrice Lee: A Father's Story, he describes how he "bared his soul" in the hope it might help his family find some answers. Follow BBC Tees on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
CTV News
20-05-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Metro Vancouver area councillors urge more B.C. oversight of municipal spending
Richmond councillor and former B.C. MLA Kash Heed in a file photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck VICTORIA — Four Metro Vancouver area councillors have launched a petition asking the British Columbia government for closer oversight of municipal spending in the province, amid a police investigation into alleged misuse of a city hall gift card program. Richmond's Kash Heed, Daniel Fontaine and Paul Minhas from New Westminster and Burnaby's Richard Lee say in an open letter to Premier David Eby that the province needs to either reinstate a specific office to oversee municipal spending or expand the auditor general's mandate to cover it. The councillors cite media reports that hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent on gift cards in Richmond, B.C., with little oversight, as well as multiple instances of 'questionable expenditures' at the Metro Vancouver Regional District. Richmond RCMP says its serious crime section has opened an investigation into the gift card case reported by Global News, which says Richmond spent more than $400,000 on the cards in three years. The premier's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the matter. The councillors have also launched an online petition on the issue, asking for public comment on what they would like to see from the province in terms of municipal spending oversight. 'Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident,' the letter says about the Richmond gift card case. 'Over the past year, Metro Vancouver has also faced public scrutiny over questionable expenditures, including lavish business-class travel, unnecessary sponsorships, and other spending that appears disconnected from the priorities of local taxpayers.' The letter also criticizes cost overruns and delays at the North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant as another example of the need for provincial oversight of municipal spending. 'These examples reflect a broader systemic issue: the absence of consistent, independent financial oversight at the municipal and regional levels,' the letter says. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 20, 2025.
CBC
20-05-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Metro Vancouver area councillors urge more provincial oversight of municipal spending
Four city councillors in the Metro Vancouver area have launched a petition asking the B.C. government for closer oversight of municipal spending in the province, amid a police investigation into alleged misuse of a city hall gift card program. Richmond's Kash Heed, New Westminster's Daniel Fontaine and Paul Minhas, and Burnaby's Richard Lee say in an open letter to Premier David Eby that the province needs to either reinstate a specific office to oversee municipal spending or expand the auditor general's mandate to cover it. The councillors cite media reports that hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent on gift cards in Richmond, B.C., with little oversight, as well as multiple instances of "questionable expenditures" at the Metro Vancouver Regional District. Richmond RCMP says its serious crimes section has opened an investigation into the gift card case reported by Global News, which says Richmond spent more than $400,000 on the cards in three years. The premier's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the matter. The councillors have also launched an online petition on the issue, asking for public comment on what they would like to see from the province in terms of municipal spending oversight. "Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident," the letter says about the Richmond gift card case. "Over the past year, Metro Vancouver has also faced public scrutiny over questionable expenditures, including lavish business-class travel, unnecessary sponsorships, and other spending that appears disconnected from the priorities of local taxpayers." The letter also criticizes cost overruns and delays at the North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant as another example of the need for provincial oversight of municipal spending.
