The dad of missing British toddler Katrice Lee says her family has "been to hell and back" as they await answers amid a breakthrough in the decades-old cold case.
Police in Wiltshire today announced they have made an arrest in connection with the disappearance of the youngster, who vanished in Germany in 1981.
The Royal Military Police (RMP) said an arrest had been made over the disappearance of the Hartlepool girl, who vanished from a shopping complex in Paderborn when she was two-years-old.
She was last seen at the forces supermarket on November 28, 1981 while shopping with her mum and aunt for treats for a birthday party as her dad was parking the car.
Her father, Richard Lee, a 69-year-old retired sergeant major, told the Mirror tonight he had been made aware an arrest was due to be made.
“We all want answers, we’ve been to hell and back over the past 38 years,” he said.
“This arrest of course brings it all back and makes it feel raw.
“As with parents in all cases of missing children, we want a happy ending but that might not be the case and we just hope that we will get answers.”
An Army Spokesman said: "We can confirm that an arrest was made on 23 September by the Royal Military Police in connection with the disappearance of Katrice Lee in 1981."
Local reports say the RMP were seen searching a house in the Moredon area of Swindon, Wiltshire, yesterday.
"As this is an ongoing investigation we cannot comment further at this stage."
Mr Lee was stationed in West Germany when his daughter disappeared.
Katrice, from Hartlepool has been in a NAAGFI supermarket with her mum Sharon and aunt Wendy that day in 1981, while her dad, Richard, was outside parking the car.
He walked into the shopping complex to find Sharon sobbing and Katrice gone.
Her mother said she had realised in the checkout line that she had forgotten crisps and asked Katrice's sister to watch her.
When she returned in what she has estimated was less than a minute, Katrice was gone.
Her sister said Katrice had run after her and she believed they were together.
Over the years, Richard has blasted the RMP over blunders in the initial investigation and subsequent years.
He has previously said he believes his daughter was either taken and sold to a childless couple, or taken by people who wanted a child of their own.
The disappearance has put the family through nearly four decades of grief - with no answers on what happened to the vanished little girl.
Katrice was born at the British Military Hospital in Rinteln, west Germany, and raised on the army base where her dad was stationed.
At the time of her disappearance both the BMP and German Police carried out searches, including in the nearby fast-running River Lippe, but found no leads and the investigation went cold.
The RMP reopened their investigation into the case in 2012.
The force released E-fit images showing what Katrice could look like at certain ages, which were broadcast on the BBC's Crimewatch programme in hopes of turning up a lead.
Then in February 2017, the RMP released a photo-fit of a man seen at the time of the disappearance carrying a small child into a green vehicle after a review of the investigation.
Last May, a police informant told the Mirror he believed he recognised a man who resembled the picture, and had given his name to investigators.
He claimed to have trained with the man in the RAF, but had parted ways with him in 1980.
The BMP and German Police scoured the banks of the Alme River in 2018, but the search did not yield any new information.
No trace of Katrice has ever been found.