What happened to Alex Batty? – Greater Manchester video report
A teenager believed to have been abducted by his mother in 2017 was found in France earlier this week
Sat Dec 16, 2023 2:41 p.m. GMT
Alex Batty, the British teenager who has been missing for six years, will return to Britain on Saturday afternoon.
The 17-year-old is expected to reunite with his grandmother Susan Caruana, his legal guardian, who has not seen her grandson since his disappearance in 2017.
He is believed to have been kidnapped by his 43-year-old mother to live an “alternative” lifestyle abroad following a family holiday in Spain in September that year.
Batty, from Oldham in Greater Manchester, would fly from the French city of Toulouse to London “accompanied by several British police officers,” Assistant Public Prosecutor in Toulouse Antoine Leroy said on Saturday.
The teenager was found early Wednesday in a remote corner of southwest France. He told police he had been living in “spiritual communities” in Spain, Morocco and France since he was kidnapped from his grandmother.
Leroy said Batty lived a “nomadic lifestyle” with his mother and grandfather in “spiritual communities” in Spain, Morocco and France.
Batty said he realized “this has to stop” when his mother announced her intention to move to Finland with him, according to Leroy. It is not clear whether he had told his mother about his plans to leave.
Caruana, his maternal grandmother, said Friday she was “overjoyed” he was coming home. “It's wonderful. It's an incredible story. It's unbelievable after all these years. I'm in shock, I can't believe it. I've spoken to him and he's fine.”
It is believed that Batty's grandfather died about six months ago. His mother, Melanie Batty, has not yet been found and may be in Finland, Leroy said.
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