Alex Batty: Teen from Oldham missing for six years found in France. Alex Batty, who had been missing since 2017, was discovered safe on December 13, 2023, by authorities. According to the Independent, Batty was discovered by a delivery boy named Fabien Accidini on Wednesday morning in an area near the town of Revel. Alex was eleven years old when he went missing.
While Alex was found safe, his grandmother and legal guardian, Susan Caruana, believes he may have pursued an “alternative lifestyle” after being persuaded by his mother Melanie and grandfather David Batty. The claims come at a time when his family is still trying to figure out where he has been living all this time.
The teenager’s aunt, Maureen Batty, told the Independent that the family was concerned about his whereabouts and that the boy had been “brainwashed by the religion David was in.”
Maureen went on to say that Alex might not have had access to education. Alex was reportedly hiking in the Pyrenees, where the residents avoid contact with the outside world and there are no schools. Maureen expressed concern about how much Alex has changed since his disappearance six years ago.
“He has had it rough. It is a mess. I’ve been told that Alex said that he had escaped and didn’t want to lead that lifestyle. I just want to know the truth about what’s gone on.”
David Batt was among those who accompanied Alex Batty and his mother, Melanie on a trip in 2017
According to The Sun, David Batty, 58, was among those who accompanied Alex Batty and his mother Melanie on a trip in 2017. The entire family, however, went missing, and they were allegedly residing as members of a “spiritual community” somewhere in the Pyrenees mountains.
According to the Independent, while Alex has been found, Melanie and David are still missing. When Fabien Accidini discovered him on Wednesday, Alex allegedly claimed that he had been abducted by his mother and had been living at a luxurious property in Spain with ten other people for the previous three years, according to Sky News.
Fabien also told reporters that, according to Alex, he had been walking around the area for four days with a skateboard and a flashlight in his hand.
According to CNN, Alex Batty initially did not reveal his real name, and while Fabien contacted local police, Alex contacted his grandmother Susan via Fabien’s phone.
“He was relieved to leave, to return to England, to see his grandmother again because he didn’t want to live his whole life in that community. He wanted to have a real life with a real future.”
According to the Daily Mail, Alex Batty, his mother Melanie, and grandfather David were supposed to spend a week in the Benehavis area in 2017. Susan Caruana, Alex’s grandmother, revealed in 2018 that she received a video in which Melanie explained why she was leaving the UK.