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A missing British teenager who has been discovered in France after six years is expected to return to the UK “in the next few days”, police have said.
Alex Batty, who is now 17, went missing in October 2017 after going on a family holiday to Marbella, Spain, with his mother and grandfather.
In the early hours of Wednesday morning, he was spotted walking alone on an isolated country road in Toulouse by a student delivery driver.
But when and why did Alex originally go missing? The Independent has put together a timeline below.
British teenager Alex Batty pictured before he went missing
(PA Media)
October 2017
Alex Batty, from Oldham, Greater Manchester, was 11 years old when he went missing in 2017. He went on holiday to Marbella, Spain, on a pre-agreed trip with his mother Melanie 37, and grandfather David, 58, when he was apparently “abducted” by his mother.
His grandmother and legal guardian Susan Caruana stayed at home in the UK. Inquiries at the time suggested he may have travelled from Malaga to Melilla on the Moroccan border. Police then launched an investigation.
Speaking to reporters after his disappearance, Ms Caruana said: “On the Sunday, they were due back in the afternoon and my husband was going to pick them up. I got this message on Facebook and it was a YouTube video of the three of them.
“They all spoke on it and Melanie said the reasons why they had done what they had done. The reason I believe they have done this is because basically my lifestyle, my belief systems, are not what they agree with — just simply living day to day, how normal people do.”
February 2018
Extensive police inquiries, an international appeal and assistance from Spanish authorities had failed to trace them by this point.
But it was reported that Alex’s grandmother received a video message from the three family members on Facebook around this time.
Alex Batty (left), mother Melanie Batty (centre) and grandfather David (right)
(Supplied)
“The reason I believe they have done this is because basically my lifestyle, my belief systems, are not what they agree with. They didn’t want him to go to school, they don’t believe in mainstream school,” Ms Caruana said after receiving the message.
Det Sgt Pete Morley of Greater Manchester Police warned Alex could be living in a commune without proper health care, GP check-ups, vaccinations or dental care.
The force also issued an appeal on his 12th birthday, urging anyone with information, including family and friends, to come forward.
October 2018
Alex’s grandmother posts a message on Facebook, saying she is experiencing “unbearable” pain and adding: “We pray we will see you again one day. Please! We aren’t getting any younger. We love you so much.”
February 2019
Police say Alex’s grandmother is “broken” in a fresh appeal for information. In a statement, Greater Manchester Police said: “The safest place for Alex is back home with his grandmother and we need the public’s help to find and return him to her.
“She is absolutely desperate for his safe return and when I spoke with her recently she said if there is one thing she could say to Alex it would be for him to please get in touch as his disappearance has left her broken.”
December 2023
Alex was spotted walking alone on an isolated country road in Toulouse, France, by a student delivery driver on Wednesday.
The driver who found him told Sky News 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 said he had been hiking in nearby mountains for more than four days in an attempt to return to England.
His grandmother said she had spoken to him and was “thrilled” Alex had finally been found after years of uncertainty.
“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,” she told The Sun.
Greater Manchester Police told a press conference this morning: “This is a huge moment for Alex and his family and the whole community in Oldham.”
It added he would be returning to the UK in the next few days and that police would be speaking to Alex to “establish the full facts”.
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