Comment on this storyCommentAdd to your saved storiesSave
LONDON – A British boy who went missing in Europe six years ago was found on the side of the road in southwestern France – a mystery that electrified the British media and overjoyed his grandmother, who was unsure whether he was still alive.
Alex Batty, who disappeared during a family holiday aged 11 and is now 17, is “safe and well”, British police told reporters on Friday.
He was found by a delivery driver near the French city of Toulouse on Wednesday morning. He was taken to the French police and identified by his grandmother via video call.
Batty comes from Oldham, a small town near Manchester in the north of England. He disappeared after traveling to Spain in 2017 as part of a family holiday with his grandfather David Batty and his mother Melanie Batty, who did not have parental custody of him.
“We are relieved and overjoyed to receive news from the French authorities that they believe Alex Batty has been found safe and sound,” Chris Sykes, assistant chief constable of Greater Manchester Police, said at a news conference on Friday.
He said that Batty's grandmother Susan Caruana – who is his legal guardian – confirmed the teenager's identity via video call and that she and other family members were “massively relieved”. as they grapple with this good news.”
Sykes said Batty would remain in French custody for safekeeping before returning to the UK “in the next few days”.
His mother and grandfather remain wanted by police in connection with his disappearance, but their whereabouts are unknown. Sykes said Batty's mother would be involved in the investigation into his disappearance over the past six years. He pointed out that he was aware of the “speculation” in the media about her, but said: “We need to talk to Alex,” adding: “Our top priority now is for Alex to get home to his family in the United Kingdom returns.”
Boris Johnson admits 'mistakes' in Covid investigation but defends record
Batty was picked up by delivery driver Fabien Accidini, who saw him walking in the rain on a road near the Pyrenees at around 3am on Wednesday morning.
“I saw a young man on the side of the road with a skateboard under his arm, a backpack and a flashlight,” Accidini said in an interview with British broadcaster Sky News before stopping to pick him up.
“During the drive we talked about his situation and he told me that he was kidnapped by his mother and grandfather when he was in Morocco… After that he went to Spain, where he lived with his mother for three years, and after that “He also kidnapped for two years in France,” Accidini said. He added that Batty told him that he lived in “a spiritual community” but left for four days before he was found.
Accidini said when he picked up Batty, the teen had money, food and water and was doing really well physically, but he said he just wanted to live a normal life, see his grandmother again and have a normal future – that's the word , which he used.” Accidini said Batty also talked about wanting to be an engineer.
Hungary's Orban blocks Ukraine funding after allowing accession talks
Batty's grandmother Susan Caruana told British media she was shocked but delighted at the news of his reappearance.
“It's pretty incredible when you don't know whether someone is dead or alive,” she told the Times newspaper after speaking to him by phone for the first time in six years this week. “I spoke to a boy when he was with us and now I'm speaking to a man,” she said.
In 2018, she told the BBC she believed disagreements over how Batty should be raised were linked to his disappearance and accused his mother of kidnapping him to pursue her “alternative lifestyle.”
Toulouse prosecutor Samuel Vuelta Simon confirmed to French media outlet Libération that the teenager had been identified as the missing Batty and that he would return to England “soon”.
Amar Nadhir and Victoria Bisset contributed to this report.