A teenager from Britain who resurfaced in southern France after disappearing six years ago was expected to return to England over the weekend, French authorities said on Friday, Dec. 15, after the boy left a spiritualist community in the Pyrenees mountains.
Alex Batty disappeared at the age of 11 during a holiday with his mother and grandfather in Malaga, Spain, in 2017.
Toulouse deputy prosecutor Antoine Leroy said the youth had spent the past two years in different areas of southern France, living in “spiritual communities” with his mother but not in a sect.
“He said he was never locked up,” Mr. Leroy told a news conference, adding that the teenager said he had decided to leave his mother when he heard she was planning to move to Finland.
The grandfather died about six months ago, said Mr. Leroy, adding the boy’s mother might currently be in Finland.
“UK authorities are buying a ticket and will arrange for travel from Bordeaux. He will leave tomorrow or at the very latest the day after,” the prosecutor said.
Earlier Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said they were working with French authorities to bring Alex home to his grandmother, who is his legal guardian.
GMP Assistant Chief Constable Chris Sykes said Alex had spoken to his grandmother via video call on Thursday evening.
“We still have some work to do in establishing the full circumstances surrounding his disappearance and where he has been in all those years,” Assistant Chief Constable Sykes said. “At the moment, the priority is speaking to Alex ... Obviously, his mother is part of that conversation and investigation.”
France’s BFM TV reported a search operation was underway to find Alex’s mother.
The GMP later issued a statement from Susan Caruana, Alex’s grandmother, expressing her delight he had been found.
“I spoke with him last night and it was so good to hear his voice and see his face again. I can’t wait to see him when we’re reunited,“ she said. ”The main thing is that he’s safe, after what would be an overwhelming experience for anyone, not least a child.”
Mr. Leroy said the boy told police that he hadn’t suffered any physical violence while living with his mother and grandfather.
A delivery driver earlier this week spotted the teenager wandering along a road around the southern city of Toulouse, saying the boy later told him he had left a remote mountain community in the Pyrenees.
The driver told media that Alex was carrying his belongings including a skateboard and a lamp when he stopped to assist the boy in the middle of the night.
Mr. Leroy said the teenager had been on the road for four days, often walking at night, and had found food in fields and vegetable gardens.
He added that Alex and his mother traveled around, living in communal houses, working at gardening and odd jobs, and always traveling with their own solar panels.
