British investigators are excavating a riverbank in western Germany to follow up on new tips in the case of a soldier's 2-year-old daughter who went missing in 1981.

Katrice Lee vanished on her second birthday while out shopping with her mother on the outskirts of Paderborn, near the British military base where her father was stationed.

After a recent media campaign in Britain and Germany and a reevaluation of evidence, British military authorities in Germany say they're focusing a new effort on the banks of the Alme river.

Among other things, a man was seen with a young girl at the time of the crime getting into a green car, and a day later a green car was spotted on an Alme bridge.

A news conference is planned Thursday.