The authorities in both Great Britain and France are now trying to unravel what really happened when Alex Batty (17) from Oldham in England disappeared six years ago.
On Wednesday morning, he was found walking along the road by a motorist near the town of Revel, east of Toulouse in France.
Batty was according BBC 11 years old when he disappeared during a holiday with his mother and grandfather.
– Wants to go home
The now 17-year-old boy was found when a random motorist saw him walking along the road in the rain and offered him a ride. Batty was allowed to borrow the phone from the driver and texted his grandmother:
Boy missing for 6 years – found in France
– I love you. I want to come home.
As early as Thursday, he will be on his way home to Great Britain, the French authorities say.
Great mother, Susan Caruana, who is Batty’s guardian, tells The Sun that she has been in contact with him.
– A shock
– I am so happy. I have spoken to him and he is fine. It’s a shock, she tells the newspaper.
Alex Batty was reported missing when he did not return home as planned on 8 October 2017 after what was supposed to be a week-long holiday trip to Marbella in Spain with his mother and grandfather. It led to a massive police investigation, and it was assumed that the mother and grandfather – who are not the boy’s legal guardians – were behind the abduction.
The two are still wanted in connection with the disappearance, but have so far not been found.
In 2018, Caruana told BBC that she thought Alex’s mother and grandfather had taken him to live in a spiritual collective in Morocco. At the time, she thought the two of them were looking for an alternative lifestyle and didn’t want Alex to go to school.
MISSING: These four boys were reported missing on Sunday. They were found dead on Tuesday. Photo: North Wales Police Show more
Remote area
Batty himself has now told the French police that he has lived for two years in remote valleys in the Pyrenees on the border between France and Spain. This area is known to be popular with many who seek an alternative lifestyle.
However, Batty has not yet said exactly where he has lived, or where his mother is, according to the BBC.
It was medical student Fabien Accidini who came driving and saw the boy walking along the road in heavy rain with a rucksack and a skateboard.
Accidini says that he felt sorry for the boy in the rain and offered him a ride.
– He was quite tall and blond. Dressed in black jeans, a white jumper and a rucksack, Accidini tells the French newspaper The Depeche.
He is said to have originally given a false name before he began to tell his real story. Batty is said to have walked through the mountains for four days in an attempt to get home to England.
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Luxury house in Spain
– For the first few minutes he seemed a bit shy. We tried to talk in English, but I noticed that he did not have a command of the language. So we communicated in English, says Accidini.
According to La Depeche, Alex said he had been abducted by his mother and had lived in a luxury house in Spain with around ten other people as part of a “spiritual community” before coming to France around 2021.
– We talked for over three hours. Very quickly he gave me his real name, Alex Batty, before telling me his story, says Accidini.
He says that Batty first asked about getting to a big city where he could contact the embassy. However, Accidini convinced him to go to the nearest police station.
– No regrets
According to La Depeche, Batty also said that he had not been held captive where he had lived with his mother, but that he had voluntarily decided to leave the place.
– It was only when the police arrived that I realized that his whole story was true, says Accidini Sky News.
He says that Batty should not have seemed angry or upset.
– He did not regret that he had left the collective. He just wanted to live a normal life, see his grandmother again and have a normal future, explains Accidini.
Greater Manchester Police in England confirm that they are in contact with the French authorities about the case.
– This is a complex and lengthy investigation. We must carry out further investigations in addition to implementing more security measures, says a spokesperson for the English police, according to the BBC.
2023-12-15 02:15:00
#message #grandmother #love
