Alex Batty returns home after being kidnapped in 2017 to join a cult

police

Alex Batty He returned to Oldham, Great Manchester, to live with his 68-year-old grandmother Susan Caruana, his legal guardian. “I'm happy to be home for Christmas,” the 17-year-old, who died in 2017 aged 11, told the media before heading to England with his mother and son during a seemingly simple holiday in Spain. Grandpa. According to investigators, before leaving, the two had actually planned to kidnap the child and live in a “spiritual” community in Morocco and then in the Pyrenees.

The day Alex was found Alex Batty was found near Toulouse, France, on Wednesday, December 13, after he managed to escape the Pyrenees, where he was living with the cult. Fabien Accidini, a student who works as a part-time driver to earn money and whom Alex had asked for a ride, took him to the police, who he himself asked for help.

Grandma's joy The first person contacted after the discovery was his grandmother Susan Caruana, who told the Mirror how “incredible” it was to see and hear Alex on their first video call on Thursday evening – the first face-to-face interaction she had with her grandson had in more than six years. “It was absolutely like a dream when I heard his voice. It was incredible,” she said.