Organisers behind missing Katrice Lee exhibition hopes it'll bring answers
The daughter of Richard Lee from Hartlepool went missing in 1981 in Germany
Last updated 26th Nov 2024
It is hoped an exhibition about the missing daughter of a Hartlepool dad will help bring answers.
Two year-old Katrice Lee disappeared in 1981 from a British military base in Paderborn in Germany.
It is there that an exhibition aims to raise awareness of her story and re-ignite memories within the local community.
Stuart Mackenzie is an artist and photographer behind it and he said: "This exhibition has been in the making for I would say the last three years. It's taken a lot of work and a lot of research in particular and I've worked quite closely with the Lee family over the last two years. I've made portraits of them and other people involved in the case.
"Those images really reflect the emotional response to the story so they show through metaphor and symbolism; the emotions, the trauma, the resilience and the unwaivering hope that the family have held for so long, so that was also quite important to me.
"It's been very well received. I've actually been quite surprised at how many people have come in and I've seen a mixture of German people from the local community, veterans who live here and we've had a number of international visitors as well. There was a Dutch couple who came in for example to have a look around and learn about Katrice's story for the first time.
"What's really striking is the German people that have come in who live in the local community and I didn't realise how well this story is remembered and it's very encouraging. It gives me a lot of hope when I hear people talking about Katrice's case and how clearly they remember it.
"I'm very hopeful that the exhibition will achieve its aim. I think it already is and if it sparks a memory in somebody from that day, who can then come forward, then that would be incredible because the Lee family are long overdue answers about what happened and they deserve to have Katrice come home.
"I lived here when I was nine years-old and I remember it clear as day. I remember the description of Katrice that was broadcast on the radio and that stayed with me since, and with my family, I have two younger sisters, we've already talked about Katrice and we always wondered what had happened to Katrice."