A British youngster who went missing six years ago is expected to come home soon after a vehicle spotted him strolling along a roadside in southern France.
According to a police appeal made in February 2019, Alex Batty has been missing since he was 11 years old, after being taken on vacation in Spain in 2017 with his mother, “who did not have legal parental guardianship,” and his grandfather.
Batty, now 17, was discovered in Haute-Garonne, near Toulouse, according to a representative for regional officials.
Fabien Accidini, a French motorist who rescued Batty from the side of the road, claimed the child had been living in France for the previous two years “in a spiritual community.”
Batty informed Accidini that he was “kidnapped by his mother” in 2017, after which he spent three years in Spain and two years in France.
“He told me he was kidnapped by his mother in Morocco five years ago.” He then went to Spain. And that he has been living in a spiritual community in France for the previous two years,” Accidini told CNN affiliate BFMTV.
Batty characterized his mother as “a little crazy,” according to Accidini.
When Accidini, a chiropractic student, first met Batty, he was carrying drugs to pharmacies overnight. Batty talked to Accidini in English and French for three hours after originally providing him a bogus identity.
According to French channel TF1, he observed Batty wandering down the side of a road with a skateboard, a jacket, a bag, and a torch. He stated that it was pouring when he saw him and that he came to a halt because he was captivated by what the youngster was doing along the road.
“He told me that he had been walking for four days since leaving the mountains, but he didn’t know where,” Fabien Accidini told reporters.
“He was relieved to be leaving, to return to England, and to see his grandmother once more.”
An investigation has been launched by the police.
According to the Toulouse public prosecutor’s office, the family has confirmed the teenager’s identification and he is scheduled to return to England soon.
Chris Sykes, Assistant Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police, stated, “our priority is to get him back to the UK as soon as possible.”
Batty, according to Sykes, will return to his family’s home in northern England “over the next few days.”
He emphasized that British police had “no detail” on Batty’s movements for the previous six years, and that authorities “need to speak” to him in order to “establish the full facts when he’s ready.”
Susan Caruana, Batty’s legal guardian, told the UK’s The Sun tabloid that she had talked with Alex.
“I am overjoyed. “I spoke with him, and he is fine,” Caruana said, adding, “He is currently with French authorities.” It’s rather shocking.”
According to the TF1 broadcast, Accidini presented a message written to Batty’s grandmother via the Frenchman’s Facebook account on Wednesday at 3:29 a.m. local time (9:29 p.m. ET).
“Hello Grandma,” the telegram said. It’s me, Alex, and I’m in Toulouse, France. I sincerely hope you get this letter because I love you and I want to come home.”
Greater Manchester Police said in a statement Thursday that they had been alerted about “a possible sighting in France of Alex Batty, who went missing in 2017.”
Officers in the English town of Oldham have been in contact with French officials to determine the “authenticity of the report,” according to the police.
“This is a serious matter,” stated a spokeswoman for Greater Manchester Police.
