A British teenager found alive in France six years after he was abducted texted his grandmother that he wanted to “go home,” a new report says.
Alex Batty, now 17, was found in southern France on Wednesday, and his identity was officially confirmed by family members on Thursday, the BBC reported.
The teenager was reportedly picked up on the side of the road by a passing delivery driver, Fabien Accidini, who allowed him to use his Facebook account to send a message to his grandmother.
“Hello Grandma, this is me Alex. I am in France Toulouse. I really hope you receive this message. I love you, I want to come home,” Batty’s message allegedly read.
Susan Caruana, Batty’s grandmother, was his legal guardian when he first went missing in 2011.
He is too weak to travel to France, but has been reunited with his grandson via video call, the BBC explained.
“I cannot begin to express my relief and joy that Alex has been found safe and sound,” Caruana said in a statement via Greater Manchester Police.
“I spoke to him last night and it was great to hear his voice and see his face again. I can’t wait to see him when we reunite,” he added.
Alex Batty was spotted in France on Wednesday. Family Distribution
“I said to myself, ‘That’s strange. It’s 3 in the morning, it’s raining, he’s alone on the road between two villages,'” Accidini said when he noticed Batty standing on the side of the road.
The teenager had nothing but a backpack, a skateboard and a flashlight – and said he had been walking for four days, Accidini said.
Batty told Accidini that he had been living in a nomadic community with his mother and that he was leaving to start his own life, the guide said.
Grandma Batty has reunited with him via video call. CHRIS NEILL / MEGA
“I typed his name into the internet and saw that he was wanted,” Accidini told the BBC.
Batty’s original plan was to go to the big city and find the embassy to ask for help, he added.
Batty was just 11 years old when his mother, Melanie Batty, and maternal grandfather, David Batty – neither of whom had custody of him – took him to Spain for a pre-arranged holiday on September 30, 2017.
The trio were last seen in Malaga Port on Oct 8 — but never returned to the UK.
D16 road where Alex Batty was found in France. Reuters
Caruana, who has legal custody of her, later told the press that she believed Melanie and David adopted the child because they had “different belief systems.”
David Batty is believed to have died about six months ago, French prosecutor Antoine Leroy said at a press conference Thursday.
Melanie Batty, however, may have already left France for Finland, Leroy added.
Batty was just 11 years old when she disappeared in 2011. AP
Melanie and David led Batty into a nomadic life where they often traveled with solar panels, prosecutors continued.
The trio lived in Morocco before arriving in France, and Batty apparently left his mother because she didn’t want to follow him to Finland, Leroy said.
Batty is currently in a youth center in Toulouse and may return to the UK with police and other officers, the BBC reported.
Prosecutor Antoine Leroy said Batty’s mother may have already left France for Finland. AFP via Getty Images
“Alex and his family remain our focus — and we still have some work to do in establishing the full circumstances surrounding his disappearance and his whereabouts,” said Assistant Chief Constable Chris Sykes of Greater Manchester Police.
“I can only imagine the emotions they experienced during this ordeal. I would ask that they be given privacy as they come to terms with what has happened and as they try to find a way to move on with their lives together.”
With Postal wire
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
