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| Alex Batty: Teen missing for six years found in France, authorities say | |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| A 17-year-old English boy from Oldham who went missing in Spain in 2017 has been found in France, authorities say. | A 17-year-old English boy from Oldham who went missing in Spain in 2017 has been found in France, authorities say. |
| The teenager, answering to the name of Alex Batty, was found in the town of Revel east of Toulouse early on Wednesday morning. | The teenager, answering to the name of Alex Batty, was found in the town of Revel east of Toulouse early on Wednesday morning. |
| Six years ago, Alex, then 11, was on holiday with his mother and grandfather when they disappeared in Spain. | Six years ago, Alex, then 11, was on holiday with his mother and grandfather when they disappeared in Spain. |
| A police source told the BBC Alex had been taken to a police station by a concerned motorist. | |
| The boy said he had been in France for two years, the police source said, adding that he bore a resemblance to the last known picture of Alex. | |
| He was in good health and did not say he had been mistreated in any way. | |
| The prosecutor's office in Toulouse confirmed the identity to the BBC, stating: "It is the missing child. The family have confirmed it." | |
| His grandmother - and legal guardian - Susan Caruana told the BBC in 2018 that she believed Alex's mother Melanie Batty and grandfather David Batty had taken him to live with a spiritual community in Morocco. | |
| She said they were seeking an alternative lifestyle and did not want Alex to go to school. | |
| Alex Batty, centre, disappeared with his mother Melanie Batty and grandfather David Batty | |
| A local journalist told the BBC a delivery driver had spotted the boy walking along a road in the foothills of the Pyrenees, carrying a backpack and skateboard and, feeling sorry for him, picked him up. | |
| "They spent three hours together in the car, and the boy told his story," Remi Buhagiar of La Depeche newspaper said. | |
| "He said he'd been living in a kind of itinerant commune. He wasn't under any compulsion but he said he found his mother a bit weird and decided he didn't want this kind of life, and that he wanted to set his own path - that's why he decided to leave," he added. | |
| Alex had been walking through the hills for days, Mr Buhagiar explained. | |
| "He asked the driver if he could borrow his phone and sent a message via Facebook to his grandmother, saying he was fine and wanted to see her. He was not sure if she got the message," he said. | |
| The area in the foothills of the Pyrenees is well-known for attracting people in search of alternative lifestyles. | |
| The boy is currently being looked after by social services. British police have been contacted via the embassy in Paris. | |
| Related Topics | |
| Oldham | |
| France |