Katrice Lee: Former serviceman released without charge

Katrice Lee went missing on her second birthday while out shopping with her mother

A former serviceman, arrested in connection with a toddler who went missing in Germany 38 years ago has been released without charge.

Katrice Lee, from Hartlepool, disappeared from a supermarket near a British army base in Paderborn in 1981.

Royal Military Police said an arrest was made in the Swindon area on Monday and a property was being searched.

The youngster's father, Richard Lee, said the man's release "did not mean the investigation is over".

Katrice was with her mother at a Naafi supermarket when she vanished.

In 2012, Royal Military Police chiefs admitted mistakes were made during the initial investigation into her disappearance, and in 2017 the government agreed to review the case.

A year later, the Royal Military Police undertook a forensic search on the bank of the River Alme, near where she went missing.

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The river site was identified after the release of an age-progressed photo-fit of a man seen at the supermarket holding a child similar to Katrice.

An Army spokesperson said: "The Royal Military Police are keeping the Lee family informed of developments".

Mr Lee, who described the latest events as a "bombshell", added: "This will not end until the Royal Military Police call me and tell me the investigation is closed.

"What I have got to do now is wait and see how this particular investigation is going to go. That's all I can do.

"When I look back at 1981 I never gave up then, and I haven't given up now."

Royal Military Police said this man was seen putting a child in a green saloon car near where Katrice Lee disappeared