15 December 2023 , 07:21
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Missing teen Alex Batty told his grandma “I love you I want to come home” on Facebook in his first contact for six years.
Now 17, Alex went missing in 2017 after going on a family holiday to Spain. Detectives believe he was abducted by his mother Melanie Batty to live an "alternative" lifestyle abroad.
French police said the teenager is "well and providing information", according to reports after he was found and identified in the south of the country by authorities. And in a Facebook message he told his grandma and legal guardian Susan Caruana: “Hello grandma is me Alex I am in France Toulouse I really hope that you receive this message.” Before signing off: 'I love you I want to come home.”
The youngster, from Fitton Hill in Oldham, went abroad with Ms Batty, who does not have legal parental guardianship, and his grandfather David Batty on a pre-agreed trip in 2017.
Alex's legal guardian Susan Caruana (PA)He flew with them to Malaga Airport for a week-long stay in the Benahavis area near Marbella. However, they did not return to England as expected on October 8 2017.
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David and Melanie Batty remain wanted in connection with Alex's disappearance. Despite international public appeals, Ms Caruana, had not seen him since he left the UK. She previously said her daughter and ex-husband lived in a commune in Morocco with Alex in 2014 as part of an "alternative lifestyle", which she thought lay behind the youngster's disappearance.
Melanie Batty pictured (PA)Alex was found after chiropody student Fabien Accidini offered him a lift in the early hours of Wednesday having spotted him walking alone near the city of Toulouse. The 26-year-old told Sky News that Alex revealed that since being kidnapped by his mother they had lived in a luxury house in Spain with around 10 people as part of a "spiritual community", before moving to France in around 2021.
Alex's grandfather David Batty (PA)The teenager said he had been hiking in nearby mountains for more than four days in an attempt to return to England. Mr Accidini said he did not initially believe the story but later agreed to call the police. He said: "After I called the police to explain the situation, when the cops arrived, that's when I realised the whole story [was real]."
The student said Alex did not seem angry at being held in the "community" and said he had not been chained up - although it was unclear if he had been allowed to leave at any time. Mr Accidini said: "He didn't have regrets [about leaving the community]... he just wanted to live a normal life, to see his grandmother again and to have a normal future, that's the word that he used."