We tell you the story of this British teenager who disappeared and was found six years later in France

He had never returned home to England. A young 17-year-old British man, Alex Batty, who disappeared in 2017 at the age of 11, was found in France, near Toulouse, the prosecution announced Thursday, December 14, confirming information from the BBC and the daily newspaper La Dépêche du Midi. The boy was picked up by a delivery man on the road and then handed over to the police. “He explained to me that he had been walking for four days, that he had started from a corner in the mountains,” the latter testified to France Télévisions. Franceinfo tells you this story with a happy epilogue.

He disappears while on vacation in Spain

Alex Batty is from Oldham, a suburb of Manchester in central United Kingdom. On September 30, 2017, the young boy went on vacation with his mother, Melanie Batty, 38, and his grandfather, David Batty, 59. The latter do not have parental authority over Alex; it is his grandmother, Susan Caruana, separated from the grandfather, who is his legal guardian.

The trio landed at Malaga Airport, Spain, and stayed in the Benahavis area near Marbella, according to a wanted poster later released by Manchester police. They are supposed to return on Sunday, October 8, but his grandmother worries the days before not having any news. On the big day, they are not at the airport as planned. She then reports the disappearance of her grandson.

He would have lived in Morocco with his mother

But despite an immediate investigation, an international appeal and help from the Spanish authorities, Alex Batty, his mother and his grandfather remain nowhere to be found. Investigations by British police officers, however, lead them to believe that the family left Benahavis and may have tried to travel to Melilla, Morocco, from the port of Malaga.

In an appeal launched in the local daily The Oldham Times in February 2018, on the occasion of her grandson’s 12th birthday, Susan Caruana explains that her daughter and her ex-husband lived in a community in Morocco in 2014 as part of a “alternative lifestyle” who, according to her, is the cause of their disappearance.

Susan Caruana reveals that on the Sunday they were due to return from Spain, she received a video on Facebook in which the three explained their decision not to return, without saying where they were going afterwards. “Alex said it was a thousand times better to be with his mother and grandfather. Obviously, that made me a little sad, but my other concerns took over”testifies his grandmother.

“I think they did this because they don’t agree with my lifestyle and my beliefs. (…) They didn’t want him to go to school, they didn’t don’t believe in traditional schooling.”

Susan Caruana, Alex Batty’s grandmother

in the Oldham Times

Susan Caruana urges her daughter and her ex-husband to wave to her. “I just want to say to my grandson Alex: ‘I love you so much and please get in touch with me'”she says, describing it as “bright, very cheerful and very affectionate”.

The police tried in vain to find him

In a press release published in February 2019, also on the occasion of the birthday of Alex Batty, who celebrated his 13th birthday away from his grandmother, the Manchester police launched a new call for testimony. “Although Alex was last seen over 18 months ago, I urge people not to forget him as his grandmother, family and friends in Oldham celebrated another of her birthdays without him”says Detective Constable Declan O’Reilly.

“The safest place for Alex is at home with his grandmother, and we need the public’s help to find him and bring him back to her.”

Declan O’Reilly, investigator in charge of the disappearance of Alex Batty

in a press release

“Anyone with information, no matter how important, is asked to come forward so we can try to reunite a missing boy and his devastated grandmother”continues the agent, supporting telephone numbers.

Alex Batty is finally near Toulouse

Alex Batty’s birthdays continued to roll by. Until a delivery man spotted a young man, now aged 17, walking in pouring rain, during the night from Wednesday to Thursday, on a road near Toulouse (Haute-Garonne). “He explained to me that he had been walking for four days, that he had left from a place in the mountains. He did not tell me where. He explained to me that he had been kidnapped. I typed his name online and saw some investigations about him.”tells Fabien Accidini to France Télévisions.

Alex Batty used Fabian Accidini to send a message to his grandmother: “Hello grandma, it’s Alex, I’m in France in Toulouse. I really hope you receive this message. I love you, I want to come home.” Collected by the police from Revel (Haute-Garonne)the teenager confirmed having lived in a traveling spiritual community until last weekend, when he decided to run away. His identity was confirmed by the Toulouse public prosecutor’s office.

“I’m so happy. I talked to him and he’s finereacted his grandmother to the British tabloid The Sun. I don’t know where his mother is. That’s excellent news. I’m just waiting for him to come home, I’m excited.” While waiting to return to the United Kingdom, the teenager was placed under the protection of social services. For its part, Manchester police said in a statement that they were in contact with the French authorities to obtain details.

“We were relieved and delighted. (…) It’s a great moment for Alex, for his family and for the Oldham community.”

Chris Sykes, Deputy Chief of Police, Manchester

in a press release

What about possible prosecutions against Alex Batty’s mother and grandfather? “We still have work to do to establish all the circumstances of his disappearance and to know where he was,” added this police official. This is a complex and lengthy search. Further investigation is necessary.”