15 December 2023 , 19:24
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Alex Batty had been staying in an isolated holiday jeet alongside his mother and granddad high up in the foothills of the Pyrenees, the Mirror can reveal.
The stone-built property is in the tiny southern French hamlet of La Bastide, just over two hours drive south of the French city of Toulouse. Neighbour Rolande Alibert said she saw the teenager leave the property last weekend while carrying a bag and showing no sign of anything unusual.
The 76-year-old, who is mayor of the hamlet, said: "I saw him leave carrying a bag at the weekend. He looked OK. But I didn’t know why he left. It was only after I read about them in the newspaper that I learnt the truth.”
The Mirror tracked down the pizzeria in Quillian France where brit Alex Batty was seen buying a pizza (The Daily Mirror)She added: "He was there and always seemed like a very nice and polite young boy. He didn’t speak French, but would always smile and say 'Bonjour' and 'Au Revoir'."
Mrs Alibert added she had regularly seen Alex doing chores in the garden of the property, which is on the side of a hill. After leaving the property French police believe Alex made his way north while sleeping during the day and hiking through the night in a bid to move undetected.
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A young Alex Batty who was found after walking for four days in the Pyrenees (PA Media)He is believed to walked through the town of Quillan, popular for outdoor pursuits, including rafting, canoeing, fishing and kayaking. Cyril Paycheng, 34, who works in the town's Platanes restaurant, believes Alex bought a takeaway pizza there earlier this week.
He said: "Based on the description I think he came in here and ordered a pizza to takeaway. He had a skateboard and was wearing walking gear and a beanie hat. He seemed ok, nothing out of the ordinary."
The young boy's last known address as a number of questions remain unanswered about his sudden reappearance (The Daily Mirror)Alex then carried on walking to Chalabre, 16 miles away, where he was picked up in the pouring rain by delivery driver Fabien Accidini in the early hours of Wednesday and taken to a police station in the nearby town of Revel.
Jean Lapierre, who lives in Chalabre, said: "I know that road well. There is no street lighting and lorries go back forth. It's a miracle he wasn't hit by a vehicle."