Alex Batty has reportedly said he is “glad to be here for Christmas” after he touched down in the UK for the first time in six years.
The 17-year-old, who was aged 11 when he went missing, flew back from Toulouse on Saturday night and he is set to be reunited with his grandmother who he has already reached out to.
Alex disappeared six years ago while on holiday in Spain with his mother Melanie Batty and his grandfather David Batty.
It is thought the three moved around from country to country before David died six months ago. Alex is said to have fled from his mother when she announced she would be travelling to Finland - where she is likely to have now arrived.
The teenager said “I’m glad to be here for Christmas” after he returned from a shopping trip with a relative in Greater Manchester, the MailOnline has reported.
The family he had been staying with in a remote farmhouse in the French Pyrenees said Alex wanted to return to the UK to get documents so that he could study computer science at school, the newspaper has said.
They said Alex had been living on-and-off in their remote mountain farmhouse since autumn 2021, where his grandfather worked as a handyman in exchange for room and board for he and Alex.
Owners of Gite de la Bastide, Frederic Hambye and Ingrid Beauve, said Alex's mother did not live at the property and during that time she stayed in "successive places of residence between Aude and Ariege" - around 50 kilometres north and 120 kilometres west of the farmhouse.
In a statement obtained by MailOnline, they said: "As far as we know, she (Ms Batty) was looking for a place to live in a community. La Bastide does not have this ambition. Nor are we a spiritual community."
The statement added: "As time went on, we saw him as part of our family and we think he appreciated the stability and security we represent for him.
"We encouraged him to learn French and study. In particular, we helped him find a school where he could be admitted without prior education. He showed a certain aptitude for computers.
"He was eager to go to school and get back to a normal life - and for that he needed his ID which he told us he no longer had.
"When we learned that he did not have an ID, we offered to drive him to the British Consulate. He told us he would find a way to return to the UK on his own to get new [identity] papers and go back to school. To this end, he told us, he left on December 17 to join his mother."
Greater Manchester Police has said it will not comment "at this time" on what Alex was doing while abroad, as the force has not yet received a statement from the teenager.
Assistant chief constable Matt Boyle previously told reporters: "We are aware the French authorities disclosed detailed information yesterday during their press conference relating to what Alex may have been doing and where he has been over his years missing.
"Greater Manchester Police are yet to obtain any formal statement from Alex and therefore we cannot comment at this time."
He walked for four days and nights in the Pyrenees mountains and was found by chiropody student Fabien Accidini while walking alone near Toulouse in the early hours of Wednesday.
His grandmother and legal guardian Susan Caruana previously said had spoken to Alex and she "can't wait" to see him when he returns.
She previously said: "I cannot begin to express my relief and happiness that Alex has been found safe and well.
"The main thing is that he's safe, after what would be an overwhelming experience for anyone, not least a child,” she added.
She had told the press that the three had been living an alternative lifestyle, travelling between Spain, Morocco, and France in their years of exile.
Alex was described as "tired" but "in good health" after being checked over by French officials and seemed "intelligent" even though he had not attended school for six years.
Greater Manchester Police said Alex had been "well cared for" by the French authorities and had a video call with his grandmother on Thursday.
