Greater Manchester Police
An undated photo of Alex Batty before he went missing.
CNN –
A British boy whose whereabouts had been unknown for six years was found in a region of southwestern France on Wednesday morning, a spokesman for regional authorities told CNN on Thursday.
According to a police appeal published in February 2019, Alex Batty had not been seen since he was 11 years old after vacationing in Spain in 2017 with his mother, “who did not have legal parental authority,” and his grandfather.
According to the spokesman, Batty was found in Haute-Garonne, near the city of Toulouse.
CNN affiliate BFMTV reported that the family had confirmed the teenager's identity and that he would return to England shortly, according to Toulouse prosecutors.
His grandmother Susan Caruana, his legal guardian, told British newspaper The Sun that she had spoken to Alex.
“I'm so happy. I spoke to him and he's fine,” Caruana said, adding: “He's currently with the authorities in France. It's such a shock.”
Police in Greater Manchester in the United Kingdom said in a statement on Thursday that they had been contacted about “a possible sighting of Alex Batty, who went missing in 2017, in France.”
Officials in the English town of Oldham are in contact with French authorities to determine the “authenticity of the report,” police added.
A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said: “This is a complex and lengthy investigation and we need to investigate further and take appropriate protective measures.”