Almost 1,000 miles away from his home, in the early hours of Wednesday morning, a delivery driver spotted 17-year-old Alex Batty walking along a road in the foothills of the Pyrenees.
The driver offered him a lift and the missing British teenager, from Oldham in Greater Manchester, reportedly soon told him that he had been living in France for the past two years after moving there from a luxury house in Spain — where he went on holiday six years ago and never returned.
The driver, a chiropody student called Fabien Accidini who alerted local police, discovered Alex near the town of Revel near Toulouse, 990 miles from the teenager’s home in Fitton Hill, Oldham. The boy, whose had last been seen at the Port of Malaga in October 2017, had hiked for more than four days in an apparent attempt to return home.
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Alex Batty said he had been walking for four days when he was picked up by a delivery driver near the town of Revel in France— (Greater Manchester Police/PA)
Mr Accidini said he saw the boy walking in the rain while holding a skateboard. He said: “He was walking while the rain fell in heavy drops. The second time I passed him, I decided to offer to drop him off somewhere.”
He added: “Very quickly, he gave me his real identity – Alex Batty – before telling me his story.”
Alex went missing in September 2017, after leaving his UK home for week-long holiday in the Benahavis area, near Marbella, with his mother Melanie Batty and his grandfather David Batty. Neither have legal parental guardianship of the boy and both remain wanted in connection with Alex’s disappearance.
Fabien Accidini, the driver who alerted police after picking up Alex— (Sky News)
Dectectives believe he was abducted by his mother to live an “alternative” lifestyle abroad. French police said the teenager is “well and providing information”, according to reports.
Back in Manchester, Alex’s grandmother, Susan Caruana, told The Times she believed her ex-partner and daughter had run away for a fresh life. She’d previously thought they had gone to a commune in Morocco.
Greater Manchester Police released a video of the Melanie Batty and his grandfather David Batty, with Alex, reading a statement shortly after they disappeared— (Supplied)
The foothills of the Pyrenees are known for attracting people in search of alternative lifestyles.
Ms Caruana had looked after Alex for three years and had allowed him to go on a holiday because ill health had prevented her from doing so herself. She made a public appeal for information on the boy’s 12th birthday in 2018.
After speaking to him since his discovery, she said: “It’s quite unbelievable when you don’t know if somebody’s dead or alive.”
It’s been reported that Alex could fly home Friday morning after being handed over to British officials.
A press briefing is to be given by Chief Superintendent Phil Hutchinson, district commander for Oldham, this morning. Earlier, a spokesperson for Greater Manchester Police said: “This is a complex and long-running investigation, and we need to make further inquiries as well as putting appropriate safeguarding measures in place.”
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said: “We are supporting a British national in France and are in contact with local authorities.”
