The British teen who has been found safe and well in France after disappearing six years ago has been speaking to officials about how he was living during the time he was away.
Alex Batty, from Oldham, was just 11-years-old when he disappeared while on holiday with his mum Melanie Batty and grandfather David. Neither relative was his legal guardian.
Alex had flown to Malaga Airport for what was expected to be a week-long stay in the Benahavis area near Marbella, but his relatives did not return on 8 October, 2017, as planned.
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Alex, now 17, was found near the French city of Toulouse on Wednesday and taken to a police station in the village of Revel by chiropody student Fabien Accidini.
His grandmother, and legal guardian, Susan Caruana said she was ‘thrilled’ with the news.
She told the Sun: “I am so happy. I have spoken to him and he is well. He is currently with the authorities in France. It is such a shock.
“I don't know where his mum is. It is great news. I am just waiting for him to come home - I am thrilled.”
Today (Friday 15 December), Toulouse Assistant Public Prosecutor Antoine Leroy told reporters what Alex had told authorities.
He said: “When his mother indicated that she was going to leave with him to Finland, this young man understood that this had to stop.
“So he then decided to leave the place where he was with his mother and he went walking for four days and four nights.
“He was exclusively walking at night and sleeping in the day.”
He went on: “He doesn’t describe any kind of physical violence, without talking about emotional violence.
“We can’t use the term ‘sect’ as such but he talks of a spiritual community.”
He continued: “The mother experienced a sort of fear of solar panels, so they were travelling from house to house with solar panels.
“They only used car-sharing, they didn’t have their own vehicle.”
Leroy added: “What I’m describing is what happened in Morocco, in Spain and in France – it was always the same way of living.”
Speaking about Alex’s condition when he was checked over by officials, Leroy said: “This young man was described by the police who have seen him and by the doctors who examined him as ‘tired’ but overall in good health.
“He’s said to be intelligent even though he’s never been to school in this entire period.”
Topics: UK News
Claire Reid