A British teenager who was missing for more than six years has spoken out for the first time since returning to the UK.
Alex Batty, 17, said ‘I’m glad to be here for Christmas’ as he broke his silence.
The teenager was found in France last week and spent his first night back in Britain on Saturday.
He landed in Manchester, walking off the plane with a skateboard under his arm before being promptly whisked away to meet his grandmother Susan Caruana, who it is understood he will live with.
It was the welcome end of a long journey for Alex, who was found on Wednesday after escaping a ‘nomadic’ life in a commune in the French Pyrenees, according to French authorities, years after he failed to return from a family holiday in Spain.
The teenager, who vanished when he was 11, is expected to speak with Greater Manchester Police at a later date as they look to piece together the events surrounding his disappearance and years spent living in a ‘spiritual commune’ after allegedly being kidnapped by his mother and grandfather in 2017.
Alex Batty, from Oldham, was 11 when he did not return from a holiday to Spain with his mother Melanie, then 37, and grandfather David, then 58, in 2017.
Alex (pictured left) with his mother Melanie (centre) and grandfather David (right) six years ago
Alex Batty’s Grandmother Susan Caruana answers her door to reporters at her home in Oldham, Greater Manchester on Friday
In a press conference on Saturday night, Greater Manchester Police explained that they had not yet spoken to Alex about his disappearance or ‘what [he] may have been doing, and where he has been, over his years missing’.
They said that they would support Alex as they look to understand what happened.
‘Speaking with him at a pace that feels comfortable to him we will ultimately determine how this case is progressed and whether there is a criminal investigation to ensure,’ Assistant Chief Constable Matt Boyle said.
‘Our continued focus is supporting Alex and his family in partnership with other local agencies to ensure they are safe, their wellbeing is looked after, and his reintegration with society is as easy as possible.
‘We are yet to establish the full circumstances surrounding his disappearance, but no matter what, understand that this may be an overwhelming process.
‘He may now be six years older than when he went missing, but he is still a young person.’
The teenager, who vanished when he was 11, is expected to speak with Greater Manchester Police at a later date
Assistant Chief Constable Matt Boyle speaking to the media about British teenager Alex Batty at Greater Manchester Police Force Headquarters in Manchester, Saturday December 16, 2023
Alex flew to Malaga in September 2017 before being taken to a ‘spiritual community’ in the foothills of the Pyrenees. Investigators believe Alex escaped the rural community in southern France and spent days trekking across the French Pyrenees before being picked up by a trucker who took him to a police station in Revel, near Toulouse
French authorities confirmed that Alex had been ‘accompanied by British police officers’ on a KLM flight via Amsterdam on Saturday.
ACC Boyle said Alex met with a family member alongside Greater Manchester Police at Toulouse Airport before heading back to the UK.
‘This moment was undoubtedly huge for him and his loved ones and we are glad that they have been able to see each other again after all this time.’
Alex’s grandmother shared her ‘relief and happiness’ at the news he had been found after years trying desperately to get in touch.
‘I spoke with him last night and it was so good to hear his voice and see his face again,’ Ms Caruana said in a statement released by Greater Manchester Police on Friday.
‘I can’t wait to see him when we’re reunited. The main thing is that he’s safe, after what would be an overwhelming experience for anyone, not least a child.’
Since September 2017 Alex is thought to have been living in a ‘spiritual community’ in the French Pyrenees with his mother, then 37, and grandfather, then 58.
French police said on Friday that Alex claimed his mother had decided to flee the mountain community to Finland following the death of his grandfather six months ago.
Assistant Prosecutor Antoine Leroy said: ‘When his mother indicated that she was going to leave with him to Finland, this young man understood that this had to stop.
‘So then he decided to leave the place where he was with his mother and walked for four days and four nights.’
Police said last night they had not yet been able to locate Ms Batty who could be in Finland.
Gite de la Bastide, remote part of the Pyrenees where teenager Alex Batty was living with his Grandfather David Batty
Neighbours living near to the isolated farmhouse where Alex was said to have been living have given contradictory reports, however, claiming that his grandfather – known to locals as Peter – was alive.
They claimed they saw Peter mowing the lawn of the Gite de la Bastide in the hamlet La Bastide, about an hour’s drive south of Carcassonne.
A neighbour, who gave his name only as Sebastian, said: ‘Peter is not dead. I saw him a week ago, maybe ten days. He was mowing the grass in front of the Gite.
‘I know this because my mum’s dog loves him. She is a white border collie and he throws a stick for her.’
Sebastian said that Alex – known to locals as Zak – had lived in the Gite with his grandfather part of the time and spent the rest of the time with his mother somewhere in the neighbouring department of Ariege.
Some of Alex’s friends on Facebook include people who appeared to live off-grid, practicing rituals, meditation and yoga. This is a picture one of them posted to social media
Alex was found on a deserted countryside road heading towards Toulose on Wednesday at 3am by 26-year-old Fabien Accidini, a student and delivery driver from Marseilles.
The exhausted teen was seen carrying a skateboard, a flashlight and a rucksack on his back when he was picked up by Fabien.
Fabien told La Depeche newspaper of the moment he discovered the teenager: ‘He was walking while the rain fell in heavy drops. The second time I passed him, I decided to offer to drop him off somewhere.
‘He was quite tall and blond, and dressed in black jeans, a white sweater and a backpack. He also carried a skateboard under his arm and a flashlight for lighting. His attitude gave me confidence. He ended up getting into my van.’
Fabien said that Alex seemed tired and stressed when he picked him up, but was ‘really fine physically’.
He added: ‘During the first few minutes, he seemed a little shy. We tried to speak in French but I noticed that he had not mastered the language.
‘I decided to communicate in English. When I asked him his name, he pretended his name was Zach, and then we continued chatting.’
Fabien said Alex told him he had been living with his mother and grandfather in a ‘spiritual commune’ after they kidnapped him.
Alex then went on to tell the driver that his mother was ‘a little crazy’ and ‘in some bizarre delirium when he was talking about spirituality’ but insisted that she had never imprisoned him and he could ‘leave when he wanted’.
‘He had no animosity towards his mother but he really wanted to find his grandmother. He really missed his loved ones,’ Fabien said.
‘We talked for over three hours! Very quickly, he gave me his real identity – Alex Batty – before telling me his story.
‘He said his mother kidnapped him when he was 12 years old. Since then he had lived in Spain in a luxury house with around ten people for three years.
‘He arrived in France around 2021. In the middle of the weekend, he decided to leave his mother to join his family in England. He had been walking for more than four days.’
Alex told Fabien that he now plans to go back to school to become an engineer, Afp reported.
Fabien took Alex to the police in Revel, near Toulouse. Alex told detectives he had spent time in the spirtual community that focused on ‘work on the ego, meditation and reincarnation’, French prosecutors said.
Alex’s cousin Stephen Devine said: ‘Alex’s mum was involved in a cult. His grandma became his guardian but then his mum Melissa and grandfather offered to take him on holiday for a week and they were never seen again.
‘It is going to be a big adjustment for him (to be home). He’s probably grown up without a formal education.’
At the time of his disappearance, his grandmother said she thought her daughter and ex-husband had taken him abroad after falling into a cult-like lifestyle.
Speaking about Alex’s condition when he was checked over by officials, French officers said: ‘This young man was described by the police who have seen him and by the doctors who examined him as ‘tired’ but overall in good health.
‘He’s said to be intelligent even though he’s never been to school in this entire period.’
Alex told detectives that his mother and grandfather had an ‘obsession’ with solar energy and they moved from house to house while taking the solar panels with them.
‘The mother experienced a sort of obsession with solar panels, so they were travelling house to house with solar panels,’ Leroy said. ‘They only used car-sharing, they didn’t have their own vehicle.’
Alex remained in the care of social services in Toulose with his passport application being ‘expedited’ so he could return to the UK quickly.
Detectives from Greater Manchester Police then flew out to the Ariege region in France this week, which is known for hippy camps, conspiracy theorists, sects and cults, to bring Alex back home.
The officers from GMP are not currently being sent out to join the hunt for his mother and grandfather, it is understood, with detectives liaising with their French counterparts on the ground.
The mayor of one rural hamlet in the Pyrenees, La Bastide, who knows the teenager, described Alex as a ‘happy and polite’ young man but added: ‘He’ll be happy to be back with his grandmother.’