Alex Batty was just 11 years old when he disappeared from a holiday in Spain, along with his mother and grandfather.
In October 2017, all signs of Alex disappeared until a miraculous day, Wednesday (December 13), when he walked into a police station.
The now 17-year-old from Oldham, Lancashire, UK, was allegedly abducted by his mother Melanie, then 37, and grandfather David, then 58, while on a vacation in Spain in 2017.
Six years after his disappearance, French prosecutors say that Alex has been found alive and well near Toulouse, France, after fleeing some sort of cult-ish compound located in the foothills of the French Pyrenees.
Alex Batty, who was allegedly abducted by his mom and grandad at 11 years old, was found on Wednesday
Image credits: Manchester Evening News
Investigators believe Alex escaped the spiritual community and spent days trekking across the mountains before being picked up by a trucker who took him to a police station in Revel near Toulouse in the south of the country, the Daily Mail reported.
In September 2017, Alex reportedly flew into Malaga airport in Spain on a pre-agreed trip with Melanie and David for a week-long stay in the Benahavis area, near Marbella.
However, the trio did not come back home as expected on October 8, 2017, provoking a significant police inquiry into the boy's apparent abduction.
Image credits: Greater Manchester Police
In 2018, Alex's grandmother and official guardian, Susan Caruana, shed light on what she believed to be Melanie and David’s motives, as she accused her daughter and ex-husband had taken her grandson abroad to live an “alternative lifestyle”.
As it turns out, Susan was right. The at-the-time 62-year-old grandmother further informed authorities that Melanie and David had previously lived in a commune in Morocco with Alex in 2014.
In 2017, Alex left with his mother Melanie, and grandfather David, on a vacation in Spain, but never returned to his home in Lancashire, UK
Image credits: Greater Manchester Police
Susan said in 2018: “They didn't want [Alex] to go to school, they don't believe in mainstream school.”
Upon seeing Alex at a police station in the French commune of Revel, a Gendarmerie spokesperson reportedly said: “We can confirm that the young man who has been found is Alex Batty. He is well and providing information.”
The spokesman further stated that the French authorities were in touch with Greater Manchester Police who were “speaking to his family in England”.
Alex's grandmother and official guardian, Susan Caruana, accused her daughter and ex-husband of taking her grandson abroad to live an “alternative lifestyle”
Image credits: ITV
According to La Depeche newspaper, Alex, his mother, and grandfather had been living between the areas of Ariege and Aude just east of Perpignan in southern France in tents and caravans pitched in the wilderness in recent weeks.
Last week, Alex finally decided to flee what the French media described as a “cult”. Over several days, he reportedly hiked across mountains in the Pyrenees and crossed through several villages, including Quillan, in the upper Aude Valley in southern France.
Image credits: Manchester Evening News
After an exhausting journey, the teenager stumbled upon Fabien Accidini, a medicine deliveryman who picked him up on Tuesday (December 12) evening.
He told the French publication: “He was walking around under the rain with a skate under his arm and a flashlight. I offered to drive him. He wanted to go to a big city.”
"The reason I believe they have done this is because basically my lifestyle, my belief systems, are not what they agree with," Susan said
Image credits: Manchester Evening News
The Toulousian man quickly understood that something wasn’t right, as his passenger could only speak English. The driver went on to warn the French authorities before bringing him to the Revel police station.
On Wednesday morning, both Alex and Fabien were interrogated, before the brave teenager “calmly and serenely” described his perilous journey, the French publication reported.
The French authorities were able to confirm that Alex was the Alex Batty who had been missing for the past six years.
Six years after his disappearance, French prosecutors say that Alex has been found alive and well near Toulouse, France
Image credits: ITV
Recalling the day the trio was supposed to return home, Alex's distraught grandmother revealed the rogue trio had sent her a video of themselves saying why they had left the UK to live an “alternative lifestyle”.
Susan said in 2018: “I got this message on Facebook and it was a YouTube video of the three of them. They all spoke on it and Melanie said the reasons why they had done what they had done.
“Alex said it was a million times better being with his mum and granddad. Obviously, it hurt a bit but then my other concerns kicked in. The reason I believe they have done this is because basically my lifestyle, my belief systems, are not what they agree with - just simply living day to day, how normal people do.
“They didn't want him to go to school, they don't believe in mainstream school.”
The teenager was found by French student and trucker Fabien Accidini, who offered him a lift after spotting him walking alone at night
Image credits: Sky News
David had previously posted pictures on his Facebook page about the Matrix and how the government was “destroying” their lives.
He also reportedly wrote that “secret courts” in the UK were “being used to steal children for profit”.
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