A boy missing for six years is found in France and a message to his grandmother is revealed (Photo: Greater Manchester Police)
The British teenager who resurfaced in France after being missing for six years has revealed details of the time he was separated from his family. In a surprise statement published by The Sun this Friday (22), 17yearold Alex Batty explained that he wanted to escape his mother.
Alex, his mother and grandfather disappeared during a holiday trip to Spain in 2017, when he was 11 years old. Since then everyone has lived in a kind of commune. Last week, the minor was found by a driver on a French road and taken to the police. However, he allowed himself to be “found” because he wanted to escape his mother. “We had a stupid argument about nothing. My mother can argue about anything, so it doesn't take much. “She is very steadfast in her views,” he emphasized.
The boy also said he lived a “nomadic” lifestyle across Europe with his mother, Melanie Batty, and grandfather as part of a “spiritual community” but did not enjoy traveling. Alex said he was afraid of what his future would look like if he stayed with his mother, whom he candidly described as “a great person… but not a great mother.” He called the lifestyle “radical and unconventional.” “In recent years I have been able to imagine what life would have been like. No friends, no social life. Work, work, work and don't study. “This is the life I imagined if I stayed with my mother,” he explained.
So he made a plan to escape. On the night of December 11, as his mother lay in bed in the house where they lived in the Aude region of France, Alex took four Tshirts, three pants, a skateboard, a flashlight, 100 euros and a Swiss with army coin. . He even left a farewell message explaining his decision: “Hey Mom, I want you to know that I love you very much. I am so grateful for the life you have given me over the last few years. Don't worry about me, you know I can take care of myself. I love you very much, don't be too angry with me. Love, Alex.”
The teenager also expressed strong criticism of his mother. “She was very antigovernment and antivaccine. She feared that if I returned to a country and got my ID, I would be taken into care. His watchword was to become a 'slave to the system,'” he emphasized.
Alex Batty is now 17 (Photo: The Sun)
Alex was found by a driver during a storm in France. When asked if he was afraid that something bad would happen to him, the young man admitted that the danger had crossed his mind. “I was a little worried. I thought, 'What kind of crazy person would pick up another crazy person in the pouring rain in the middle of the night?'” he recalled. He lied to the driver, saying he had left a remote mountain community and asked to send messages to his grandmother in the UK using his Facebook account.
Alex also commented on the lies he has told since escaping the commune. “I lied to protect my mother and grandfather, but I realize they'll probably get caught anyway. I have not lost my way. “I knew exactly where I wanted to go,” he emphasized.
British authorities announced that they had opened a criminal investigation into Alex's alleged kidnapping, which was also allegedly involving his mother. The teenager returned to Oldham, near Manchester, last Saturday to live with his grandmother Susan Caruana, who is his legal guardian. “The house is different now, but it still looks the same. The biggest difference is that when I was a boy I was a boy, but now I'm 1.90 meters tall, so too tall for the bed. It’s great to be back,” he concluded.
The young man said that he wanted to go to college now. Courses you can take include: computer science, cybersecurity or blockchain development. Check out excerpts from the interview: