What happened to Alex Batty, the British boy found in France after vanishing in 2017?

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.

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”.

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.