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Alex Batty, a British boy who went missing in 2017, has been found in France. 

He is now 17, having disappeared when he was 11.

How and why did he go missing, and what has happened in the six years since?

What happened when Alex went missing?

Alex travelled to Spain with his mother, Melanie Batty, and grandfather, David Batty, on 30 September 2017, for what was supposed to be a holiday.

They flew into Malaga to stay in the Benahavis area near Marbella, but police believed they may then have headed towards Melilla in Morocco, via the port of Malaga.

Alex was reported missing on 8 October 2017, prompting a police investigation that has lasted six years.

Greater Manchester Police led extensive enquiries, including an international public appeal, in a bid to find Alex, who is from Oldham.

Ms Batty and Mr Batty are wanted in connection with his abduction.

What’s the backstory to the Spain trip?

Neither Alex’s mother nor grandfather have parental guardianship, so where he lived as a child was not up to them.

The holiday was prearranged with Alex’s maternal grandmother, Susan Caruana, who is his legal guardian.

Ms Batty and Mr Batty previously lived on a commune with Alex in Morocco in 2014.

Why did they disappear?

Speaking to Sky News in 2018, Ms Caruana explained that she thought they had left to pursue an “alternative lifestyle”.

“Because basically my lifestyle, my belief systems, are not what they agree with – just simply living day to day, how normal people do,” she said.

“They didn’t want him to go to school, they don’t believe in mainstream school.”

Recalling the day they were supposed to return to the UK, Mrs Caruana said: “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.”

Mrs Caruana has not seen her grandson since 2017.

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How was he found?

Alex was found when a medical student offered him a lift in the early hours of Wednesday after spotting him walking alone in heavy rain near the southern French town of Revel, about an hour from Toulouse.

Fabien Accidini was out on his job as a pharmacy delivery driver when he saw Alex by the side of the road and stopped to see if he needed help.

Alex initially gave a fake name, saying he was called Zac, but quickly started opening up and told him he had been kidnapped by his mother when he was 11.

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Student recalls rescuing Alex Batty

The teenager said he had been hiking in nearby mountains for more than four days in an attempt to return to England.

The 26-year-old initially did not believe the story, but eventually agreed to call the police after hearing more details.

Mr Accidini told Sky News: “After I called the police to explain the situation, when the cops arrived, that’s when I realised the whole story [was real].”

He also agreed to let Alex borrow his phone – which the 17-year-old used to send a Facebook message to his grandmother in the UK, saying “I love you, I want to come home”.

What do we know about the last six years?

Alex told Mr Accidini he had lived in a luxury house in Spain with around 10 people as part of a “spiritual community”, before moving to France in around 2021.

The student said Alex did not seem angry at being held in the “community” and said he had not been chained up – although it was unclear if he had been allowed to leave at any time.

“He didn’t have regrets [about leaving the community]… he just wanted to live a normal life, to see his grandmother again and to have a normal future, that’s the word that he used,” the student added.

What happens now?

Alex is expected to arrive back in the UK to be reunited with his grandmother in the “next few days”.

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Alex Batty to be back in the UK ‘within days’

Greater Manchester Police said they were working with the French authorities to bring Alex back “as soon as possible”.

“Our main priority now is to see Alex returned home to his family in the UK and our investigation team are working around the clock with partner agencies and the French authorities to ensure they are all fully supported,” Assistant Chief Constable Chris Sykes said at a news conference on Friday.

He said police were waiting to talk to Alex to establish the facts about what had happened in the past six years.

Alex and his grandmother have spoken on the phone and she was content it was him, police said, adding that they would do further checks on his identity when he was back.

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‘Rapper’ who murdered schoolboy recalled to prison after ‘boasting about his violent crime’, Probation Service says

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'Rapper' who murdered schoolboy recalled to prison after 'boasting about his violent crime', Probation Service says

The man who served 14 years in jail for the murder of schoolboy Jimmy Mizen has been recalled to prison for breaching his licence conditions.

It follows reporting in The Sun newspaper that Jake Fahri, 35, was a drill rapper releasing music under the name TEN, who conceals his identity with a balaclava, and was played on BBC 1Xtra.

A Probation Service spokesperson said: “Our thoughts are with Jimmy Mizen’s family who deserve better than to see their son’s murderer shamelessly boasting about his violent crime.”

Jimmy’s father Barry told Sky News: “We’re not gloating or anything, in a way it’s quite sad.”

His son bled to death after Fahri threw an oven dish at him in a south London bakery on 10 May 2008.

The dish shattered on his chin and severed an artery in the schoolboy’s neck.

Fahri was 19 when he was given a life sentence in 2009 with a minimum term of 14 years and was released on licence in June 2023.

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His music was played on BBC 1Xtra less than 18 months later, the Sun reported, adding that DJ Theo Johnson named him an “up-and-coming star”.

Undated Family handout photo of 16-year-old Jimmy Mizen. Comedian Harry Hill will today present the keys of two minibuses in memory of the murdered schoolboy. Just days before the anniversary of the teenager's death on May 10, Hill will hadn over the keys of the "Jimmybuses" which will help Scouts travel around the UK.
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Jimmy Mizen. Pic: PA

Jimmy’s father earlier said he and his wife Margaret were “stunned into silence” when they were told about Fahri’s music, which often features violent themes.

In one song, which appears to reference Jimmy’s death, he raps about “sharpening” a blade.

“Judge took a look at me, before the trial even started he already knows he’s gonna throw the book at me,” the lyrics say.

Another track includes the lines: “See a man’s soul fly from his eyes and his breath gone… I wanted more, it made it less wrong. Seeing blood spilled same floor he was left on.”

The BBC has said the artist’s tracks do not feature on any BBC playlists, and that a track which appeared to reference Jimmy’s death had never been played on its channels.

A spokesman for the broadcaster added there were “no further plans to play his music”, adding: “We were not aware of his background and we in no way condone his actions.”

Read more from Sky News:
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A Probation Service spokesperson said: “All offenders released on licence are subject to strict conditions. As this case shows, we will recall them to prison if they break the rules.”

Jimmy’s parents founded the Mizen Foundation after their son’s death. The charity helps young people in London who are escaping violence.

Mr Mizen said: “It appears that if he’s been recalled to prison, he must’ve breached his licence conditions

“What happens next, we’ve absolutely no idea.”

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Madeleine McCann suspect won’t face charges for foreseeable future, prosecutor tells Sky News

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Madeleine McCann suspect won't face charges for foreseeable future, prosecutor tells Sky News

The man suspected of abducting Madeleine McCann won’t face any charges in the foreseeable future, a prosecutor has told Sky News.

German drifter Christian B, who cannot be fully identified under his country’s privacy law, is expected to be freed from an unrelated jail sentence this year while police in three countries continue to search for evidence against him.

Prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters said: “There is currently no prospect of an indictment in the Maddie case.

“As things stand, the accused Christian B’s imprisonment will end in early September.”

Madeleine, aged three, was asleep with her younger twin siblings in the family’s Portuguese rented holiday apartment before mother Kate discovered her missing at around 10pm on 3 May, 2007.

Her parents were dining nearby on the complex with friends and taking turns to check on all their sleeping children every half an hour.

A man, who is a suspect in the disappearance of British toddler Madeleine McCann in Portugal, stands next to his lawyer Friedrich Fuelscher at his trial on unrelated sexual assault charges in Braunschweig, Germany, October 2, 2024. Christian B., is charged with three counts of aggravated rape and two counts of sexual abuse of children in Portugal between June 2007 and December 2000. Moritz Frankenberg/Pool via REUTERS
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Christian B at his trial on unrelated sexual assault charges in Germany last year. Pic: Reuters

Madeleine’s disappearance has become the world’s most mysterious missing child case.

Philipp Marquort, one of Christian B’s defence lawyers, welcomed the prosecutor’s pessimism about bringing charges.

He said: “This confirms the suspicions that we have repeatedly expressed, namely that there is no reliable evidence against our client.

“We regret that we have not yet been granted access to the investigation files. We have not yet been able to effectively counter the public prejudice arising from statements made by the prosecutor’s office.”

Christian B, 47, is in jail and coming to the end of his sentence for the rape of an elderly American woman in Praia da Luz, the Portuguese resort where Madeleine disappeared.

In October, he was acquitted on a series of rape and indecent assault charges after a non-jury trial in Germany, in which several references were made to his status as the main suspect in the Madeleine case.

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File photo dated 30/04/17 of Kate and Gerry McCann, whose daughter Madeleine disappeared from a holiday flat in Portugal seventeen years ago. They have released a statement on the 17th anniversary of her disappearance, saying "the absence still aches". Earlier this week, it was confirmed that up to a further ..192,000 has been granted by the Home Office for the Scotland Yard investigation into Madeleine's disappearance. Issue date: Friday May 3, 2024. PA Photo. See PA story POLICE Portugal. Photo credit should read: Joe Giddens/PA Wire....
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Kate and Gerry McCann. Pic: PA

The prosecutor said he was awaiting the court’s written judgment before launching an appeal against the acquittal. He believes the trial judges were biased against the prosecution.

If successful, he could apply for a new arrest warrant for Christian B to keep him in custody until a retrial with new judges.

He said: “We hope that the Federal Court of Justice will decide before the end of the accused’s imprisonment. If the Federal Court follows our legal opinion, we could apply for a new arrest warrant for the accused’s offences, so that the accused would then remain in custody beyond September 2025.

Mr Marquort said the defence team would oppose the prosecution’s appeal against the acquittal.

Prosecutor Mr Wolters has said in the past that he believes Madeleine is dead and that Christian B was responsible for her death. The suspect denies any involvement.

The case against Christian B is purely circumstantial; he’s alleged to have confessed to a friend that he abducted Madeleine, he has convictions for sex crimes against children, he was living in the area at the time, his mobile phone was close by when the young girl vanished and he re-registered one of his vehicles the next day.

The prosecutor won’t say what evidence he has to convince him Madeleine is dead, but he admitted he is still trying to find forensic evidence to link Christian B to the girl.

Christian B is acquitted of sex attacks not related to the Madeleine McCann case
Image:
Christian B coming to the end of his sentence for the rape of an elderly woman

Jim Gamble, former head of the UK Child Exploitation and Online Protection centre, said he had expected the prosecutor to charge Christian B soon.

“He’s implied the whole way through that he has something more than the public are aware of,” he said.

“He’s made fairly definitive statements about whether Madeleine is alive or dead so you would expect their strategy to have been to charge him sooner rather than later.

“From what he’s said today I wonder if we’re witnessing the re-positioning of something to manage the disappointment that’ll come.”

Mr Wolters, who is based in Braunschweig, Lower Saxony, is investigating the case with the help of Portuguese police and detectives from Scotland Yard.

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Man arrested after death of woman and two-year-old girl found with serious injuries in Ashford, Surrey

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Man arrested after death of woman and two-year-old girl found with serious injuries in Ashford, Surrey

A man has been arrested after the death of a woman in her 20s and a two-year-old girl was found with serious injuries in Surrey.

The man, in his 30s, has been detained on suspicion of murder and attempted murder, Surrey Police said.

Officers went to a property in Woodthorpe Road, Ashford, at 1.15pm on Thursday following a report of concern for safety.

The woman and child were found at the address with serious injuries and despite treatment from paramedics, the woman died at the scene.

The child was taken to hospital.

Officers said the victim and the suspect were known to each other.

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A forensics officer at the scene at Imtech House on Woodthorpe Road in Ashford, Surrey, after a woman in her 20s died and a two-year-old girl was found with serious injuries. A man in his 30s has been arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder. Picture date: Friday January 17, 2025.
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Pic: PA

An investigation, led by the Surrey and Sussex Police Major Crime Team, is under way and inquiries remain ongoing, police said.

Senior Investigating Officer DCI Kimball Edey said specialist officers “are working around the clock to gather as much information as possible,” and that the force’s “thoughts are with the family and friends of the victims at this unbelievably difficult time”.

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