Alex Batty: Police launch investigation into alleged abduction

A criminal investigation has begun into the alleged child abduction of Alex Batty, who reappeared this month after going missing six years ago.

Officers have interviewed the now 17-year-old following his return from France, Greater Manchester Police said.

After being looked after by the French authorities, Alex met his step-grandfather at Toulouse airport on Saturday before boarding a flight to the UK, the force added.

He was taken on holiday when he was 11 and returned to the UK last weekend after being found by chiropody student Fabien Accidini near the French city of Toulouse.

The teenager, from Oldham, trekked for four days and nights across the Pyrenees, a French prosecutor said, after spending years in France and Spain with his mother and his grandfather.

His mother Melanie Batty, who does not have legal guardianship, may be in Finland, French prosecutors have said. Antoine Leroy told reporters Alex said he knew his life with his mother “had to stop” after she said she intended to move to Finland.

He is now under the legal guardianship of his grandmother, Susan Caruana, in Oldham.

In a newspaper interview, the teenager said it felt “surreal” to be home and he still goes to sleep not expecting to wake up in England.

He went on holiday with his mother and grandfather David Batty, 59, in 2017.

He never returned and is said to have lived an “alternative” lifestyle abroad before deciding to return home.

Speaking to the Sun newspaper, the 17-year-old said he spent six years wandering around Europe with his mum and grandfather and first thought of leaving when he was 14.

“Being back with my grandma feels quite surreal,” he said. “Every time I go to sleep, I feel like I’m going to be waking up back in France. It’s not really kicked in yet that I am back in England.

“For the first few years, when I was in Spain, it was a vacation really, spending most days doing whatever I wanted, reading, drawing, going to the beach.”

He said he “started to pick up slack” at around 14, when he took up odd jobs in construction, decoration, painting walls and renovation work.

“I had a non-existent social life to be honest,” he said, adding he didn’t go to school and instead learned languages and studied maths and computing when he came across a textbook.

“And the entire six-year span, I made one friend and it was the only person really that I’d met for the entire six years that was even close to my age.”

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Speaking about his mother, who he described as “anti-government, anti-vax”, Alex said: “She’s a great person and I love her but she’s just not a great mum.

“I had an argument with my mum and I just thought I’m gonna leave because I can’t live with her.”

“I realised it wasn’t a great way to live for my future,” he added.

“Moving around. No friends, no social life. Working, working, work and not studying. That’s the life I imagined I would be leading if I were to stay with my mum.”

According to The Sun, Alex walked out of a rented house they were staying in near Chalabre, in southern France, and left a goodbye note on Monday last week.

He was picked up by chiropody student Fabien Accidini near the French city of Toulouse in the early hours of Wednesday – two days later.

“He was delivering parcels so I helped him because it’s the least I could do,” Alex said.

“He let me use his phone to contact my grandma. After that he calls the police and a squad car nearby takes me to the nearest police station.”

He can now look forward to spending time with family members, friends and others he grew up with in Greater Manchester, where he was living as a young boy and police say is “where he wants to be”.

“When I got back to Manchester it was raining as usual,” he added.

“I was driven back to my gran’s house and I walked in the door and she’s in the living room. I started shaking and just gave her a massive hug.

“The house is different now but still feels the same.”