Now 17-year-old Alex Batty ran away from his mother in France, who threatened to bring the boy to Finland.
The British boy who had been missing for six years Alex Batty has returned home to the UK. According to a representative of the Greater Manchester Police, he flew from Toulouse via Amsterdam to London on Saturday. Alex had British police officers and one family member to accompany him on the trip.
– I am very happy to say that Alex is now safely back in Britain after six years, Assistant Constable Matt Boyle said.
Batty now returns to his maternal grandmother and official guardian Susan Caruana to take care of.
– I cannot describe in words how relieved and happy I am that Alex has been found safe and sound, Caruana said in a statement provided by the British police.
– The most important thing is that he is safe. What he has experienced would have been overwhelming for anyone, let alone a child. I ask that our family be given privacy now as we welcome Alex back. We want to make his recovery process as gentle as possible, Caruana continued.
According to the police, the circumstances surrounding the boy’s disappearance have not yet been fully clarified, and it is still open whether a criminal investigation will be launched into the case.
Mother is probably in Finland
British police are looking for Alex’s mother Melanie Battya suspected of involvement in his son’s disappearance. Deputy Prosecutor of Toulouse, by Antoine Leroy, according to this may now reside in Finland. The boy’s grandfather by David Battyn believed to have died six months ago.
Alex Batty, from Oldham, near Manchester, disappeared in 2017 while on holiday in Spain with his mother and grandfather. The boy was 11 years old at the time of his disappearance.
Alex was found this week on the side of the road in southern France near the city of Toulouse. The now 17-year-old boy said he walked in the Pyrenees mountains for four days. He said that he ran away from his mother, who had tried to get him to come with her to Finland.
– He had had enough, said the driver who took the boy to safety from the pouring rain at night Fabien Accidini.
– The boy said to me: “I am 17 years old. I need a future.”
According to his helper, Alex wants to go back to school and study engineering.
Batty told the French authorities that after his abduction, he lived an itinerant life with his mother and grandfather in Spain, Morocco and France as part of a spiritual community. The community is known as a camp for sectarians from different parts of Europe looking for an alternative lifestyle.
Sources: AP, AFP, Reuters