A father whose toddler daughter vanished in a suspected kidnapping nearly 50 years ago has accused an American woman of impersonating his child to steal money through a fundraising scam.
Richard Lee, 76, a former British Army sergeant major, says the woman set up donation pages and collected hundreds of dollars by pretending to be his missing daughter, Katrice Lee. Katrice disappeared on November 28, 1981, her second birthday, while looking for her mother in a shopping centre in Germany, where Richard was stationed.
Richard, from Hartlepool, County Durham, has vowed to keep searching for answers until his death. He says the woman, calling herself Heather McCord, created a GoFundMe page in February, claiming she needed funds to travel to the UK for a DNA test to prove her identity. She raised $225 before the scam was uncovered.
“When I was informed about it, I was livid. I’m fuming about it. My goal is to get answers about where Katrice is. Their goal is purely to get money,” Richard said.
A friend of another missing children’s support page alerted Richard’s other daughter, Natasha, to the fraudulent page. The woman reportedly used material from Richard’s past interviews to fabricate a story about wanting to reconnect with the family for a DNA test.
“She started pulling on the heartstrings on February 27. It had gone out in America, and about $225 had been donated,” Richard added. “By all accounts, it’s not the first family she’s done this to. In my mind, she’s a career scammer. She has a number of donation pages running simultaneously.”
Richard noted several red flags in the woman’s story. He explained that if she genuinely believed she was Katrice, she could have simply gone to the American military police, who would have contacted the UK military police for a DNA test. “All she had to do was go to the American military police, and they would’ve contacted the UK military police. They would’ve faxed over the DNA results, and we’d know,” he said.
“This woman is trying to cash in on our tragedy, and it shouldn’t be allowed. It’s scandalous to pretend to be such a thing. To make money from it is unbelievable.”
The family has reported the incident to the UK Military Police, who are coordinating with US authorities to trace the woman. Richard remains determined to find out what happened to his daughter.
“I won’t stop until I get the resolution of knowing what’s happened. Love doesn’t die, and that’s what it’s all about. My main aim is exactly that,” he said.
