Stu McKenzie: Missing Katrice

Published September 10th, 2026

On 28 November 1981, the day of her second birthday, Katrice Lee vanished from the NAAFI supermarket at Schloss Neuhaus, West Germany, while shopping with her mother and aunt. In a Cold War garrison town, before the era of mobile phones, CCTV or social media, the initial investigation fixed almost immediately on the idea that she had drowned in the nearby River Lippe.

But the investigation carried out by the police and the military was deeply flawed. The area wasn’t secured, border alerts were delayed, and witnesses were missed or not spoken to, sometimes for several years. No trace of Katrice or her bright red wellington boots was ever found. For the family, that sudden absence became their daily reality: a birthday that turned into a lifetime of searching, and a family forced to live with questions that never found answers.

‘Missing Katrice’ reflects a deeply personal connection for Stu McKenzie. He grew up in the same community in Germany where Katrice Lee disappeared in 1981, and the memory of the event has remained with him throughout his life.

After serving in the British Army, McKenzie worked as a Camera Journalist for the BBC, covering major international events before turning his focus toward long-form documentary projects. His practice centres on storytelling shaped by lived experience, exploring memory, trauma, displacement, and the lasting impact of conflict.

Alongside his photographic practice, McKenzie runs workshops supporting mental health and wellbeing, using photography and time in nature as tools for reflection and recovery.

£35.00 clothbound hardback 
108 pages, 225mm x 245mm
ISBN: 978-1-916915-24-4